The Comet, the Devil, and the Hedgehog
by MobileSuitSonic
Summary: Sonic the Hedgehog was unsuccessful in reversing the Super Genesis Wave. While the timeline and inhabitants of the Prime Universe were saved, Mobius has merged with its ancient self. The now-deactivated Freedom Fighters and their enemies are now ensnarled in the prehistoric One Year War between the Principality of Zeon and the Earth Federation.
1. Prelude

The following is a crossover some would consider unthinkable: the late Archie run of _Sonic the Hedgehog _and Universal Century _Gundam_. I happen to be a fan of both and wanted to bridge that gulf in some way.

For those of you who don't know, the Archie series never ended the way it was supposed to. Ken Penders' temper tantrums over the use of his characters and the whims of a SEGA boardroom forced Ian Flynn and staff to undergo a reboot nobody wanted. Every plot thread-Mecha Sally, the Echidna race, Geoffrey-Naugus, the Secret Freedom Fighters-was left dangling following the _Worlds Collide_ event with Archie's _Mega Man_.

The project originally began as a _Sonic_/_Super Robot Wars _crossover involving UC _Gundam_, Banpresto's OCs, _Getter Robo_, _Mazinger Z_, and the original _Macross_ series. It collapsed under its own weight from the immense scope of the project. Everything's been whittled down to where the _Gundam_ stuff remains.

_Red Comet, White Devil, Blue Hedgehog_ combines the _Gundam the Origin_ manga by original character designer Yoshikazu Yasuhiko with elements of Kazuhisa Kondo's _Gundam 0079_ manga adaptation, the 1979 anime and movies they both adapted, and even some portions of the Tomino Memo-allegedly the TV series original plot outline before an unprecedented lack of interest cut the run down from 52 episodes to 39 before getting an extension to 43. Archie Sonic Online's story is also used as a starting point for this.

* * *

A Mobian hedgehog glowing with a golden aura struggled to restore his warped universe through the power of Chaos Control. He had been involved in a great adventure with a robot boy from a parallel timeline and fought both their archnemeses in the process. While the robot was successful in restoring his reality, the same could not be same for the hedgehog. 

His rotund adversary, in a fit of rage, disrupted the mending of the universe. 

The last words uttered were "Eggman, what did you do?!" 

Everything went white. There was no sound or anything. Just a bright void. 

Then there came a faint, somewhat staticky voice: _"Zonic, what just happened?"_

A figure slowly began to materialize. A small, armored person. "I'm not sure, warden. Hold on while I find out." 

_"If this is a plan of Nega's we're going to need support here. The Zone Jail won't be able to withstand a direct attack."_

The figure, an anthro hedgehog structurally identical to the one who was erased a moment ago, changed channels on his wrist-commlink. "This is Zonic to Zone HQ. Do you copy?" 

_"Copy, Zonic,"_ said a new voice on the other end._ "This is commander Zelias."_

The armored figure, Zonic, walked on. The void transitioned into a command center with numerous monitors. "Did you see that whiteout?" he asked. 

_"We did,"_ Zelias replied. _"In fact, almost every zone cop reported something similar. Unfortunately, we're not sure what it was, but it didn't look good."_

"Send me Zomochao," said Zonic. "I'll find out exactly what happened." 

_"Report to Lieutenant Zally in fifteen minutes. Give her as much information as you can. I'm placing the rest of the force on standby. Do you copy, Zonic? Zonic? …ZONIC!?"_

Zonic wouldn't respond. On the monitor before him, he could see a location on Mobius Prime: an immense metallic cylinder was falling inexorably toward a large city. The screen went white as well. 

* * *

The No Zone: a universe located 90⁰ from everywhere and home to the interdimensional police force known as the zone cops, monitoring every universe in existence and the Cosmic Interstate connecting them all. At this time, their headquarters was up in arms concerning a series of anomalies. 

The robotic Zomochao, was plugged into a large supercomputer by a long USB cable by Zonic; various monitors displayed footage of anthro hedgehogs similar to Zonic. Behind him, the door hissed open. A red-haired chipmunk in uniform, Zally, entered. Zonic saluted. 

"Forget the formality," she said. "I trust you found something?" 

They moved over to a monitor displaying a desolate wasteland. A dead Mobius choked by radiation. "Take a look at these two universes," said Zonic "One of these was the original universe of the Robotnik that is currently on Mobius Prime. He destroyed his entire world before he made his… relocation." He next showed her another monitor: a swarm of superpowered Mobians were doing battle with an armored planet-sized Eggman in space. "The other one was home to a group of futuristic Freedom Fighters… until their entire universe was consumed by that universe's version of Robotnik. These worlds should be desolate. And yet they're not." 

He was correct: each universe had their own Sonic the Hedgehog, Robotnik, Freedom Fighters, and—most importantly of all—life! All Zally could say was "Impossible!"

"And that's not all," said the robotic Zomochao "Those two universes are separating from our multiverse and becoming part of the pluraverse." 

"And this whiteout was linked to the altering of these worlds?" 

"Yes," Zomochao confirmed "anything outside of this multiverse isn't under our jurisdiction (and is mutually inaccessible). So we'll have to inform the commander of the change." 

"Tell me something I don't know!" Zally yelled. 

"Well, there is the case of Mobius Prime," said Zomochao. "The fight between Sonic Prime and the Robotnik he's been fighting… culminated in a space-time reversal." 

"What do you mean?" Zally asked, coldly. 

The two Zone Cops looked at the monitor for Mobius Prime. A huge space battle was occurring: something uncommon for that particular world. Spaceships fired salvoes of beams at each other and humanoid machines with glowing pink "eyes" were involved in the fighting. Though robotic, they didn't seem to be of Robotnik origin. What had happened? 

"The whiteout was a reality-altering wave," said Zonic "and it looks like all of our local universes were affected." 

A wave of disgust swept over Zally. "And if the Ultimate Annihilator was any indication," she added to her subordinate "the barriers between zones were weakened again, making it even easier for Dr. Nega to attack us. Great." 

Zonic's commlink whistled. It was the warden. _"I need every available zone cop at the zone jail! Dr. Nega is attacking!"_

"Well speak of the devil," Zonic remarked. "Zomochao, keep track of things while we're gone." 

On that note, Zonic and Zally left via Warp Ring. 

* * *

The Super Genesis Wave was an attempt for Doctors Eggman and Wily to rewrite their universes. The efforts of Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man foiled their plans. While Mega Man was able to restore his reality to normal, the interference of Eggman hampered Sonic's attempts at restoring his own. The effect of the wave has merged the Mobius torn by conflict between the Dark Egg Legion and Kingdom of Acorn with ancient Earth. A time when humans were the dominant species.

With the population explosion, mankind was forced to emigrate into space, within half a century, entire nations of human beings began to call the giant space colonies their homeland.

In the calendar year of the Universal Century 0079, the group of colonies furthest from the Earth, Side 3, took the new name "the Principality of Zeon" and began a war of independence against the Earth Federation government. In slightly over a month of battle, both Zeon and the Federation saw half their populations die.

Mankind was horrified at its own atrocities, and the war came to a stalemate for a little more than eight months…

* * *

UPDATE 3/5/2019 – Restructured the text and reuploaded via DocX this time. FF needs to get its act together with the copy/paste function.


	2. Side 7 -- Monday, Sept 17, UC 0079

After various problems with the formatting of the prologue, I can finally truck ahead. Now we get to see the other half of the crossover!

**There will be some coarse language later on in the chapter. If you read on, just be aware.**

Also, keep an eye out for a reference to one of the big UC loremasters from back in the day!**  
**

* * *

**_Musai_-class Light Cruiser _Falmel_.**

**September 17, UC 0079**

The night side of Earth could be seen outside of the Musai's viewport. Between the planet and the ship, a series of flashing lights in the distance. Lights on a large cylinder in the vacuum. Between the cylinder and the ship was another ship. A new one belonging to the enemy.

A red-garbed Zeon officer, his upper face obscured by a mask, stroked his chin. As far as Lieutenant Commander Char Aznable could see, this was a blessing and a curse.

"The 'Trojan Horse' has assumed inertial navigation," a tech announced. "Soon she'll reach Side 7-administered space."

"Is that it?" asked Char.

"Yes," an adjacent lieutenant confirmed. "This close, we can see it with the naked eye. Those lights are probably it—the Feddies' secret facility. Have they only made the first bunch? It's been two years since they started construction."

"Not even the first bunch," said Char "they've stopped building it halfway."

The subordinate smirked. "All they need is a site for the you-know-what development facility. The Side 7 colony is just a cover."

"How many residents, Dren?"

"We don't know for sure, but I'd say around 7,000 or 8,000. Of course, on top of that, you've got quite a number of engineers. Then there's the construction personnel."

Char's gaze was fixed on the shadowy shape of the colony and where the "Trojan Horse" was.

* * *

This is Char Aznable:

He was a native of the Texas Colony at Side 5, he was the son of the colony's administrator Roger Aznable. He had to wear a special visor due to eye damage from cosmic radiation. He entered the Zeon Space Defense Academy at Guardian Bunch in UC 0074 and excelled at his classes. He participated in a student uprising against Federation garrison at the colony three years later. A daring move that earned him and his classmates great fame, but also the anger of superintendent Dozle Zabi as well. He was expelled from the academy, but eventually found himself back in the military.

The war began on January 3. The cataclysmic One Week Battle saw the destruction of the colony cluster Side 2, followed by Sides 1 and 4. An abortive attempt to end the war quickly by dropping a depopulated colony onto the Federation's military headquarters at Jaburo, South America ended with the destruction of Sydney, Australia instead. By the time the guns went silent, half of the human species was dead.

Less than a week later, another major battle occurred at Side 5, with Zeon attempting to force a second colony into Earth's gravity well. The Battle of Loum, as it became known as, saw the Earth Federation bring every bullet forward to fight the Zeons; the Combined Fleet outnumbered Zeon's three ships to one. However, this advantage soon disintegrated. Zeon successfully fielded a new weapon, the mobile suit. In so doing, they changed the entire concept of modern warfare. While the Federation prevented a second devastating colony drop, Zeon's nimble mobile suits were able to evade fighters and anti-aircraft weaponry. The majority of the Federation's space fleet was lost on that day alone.

It was during this battle that Char, a mere lieutenant at that time, made his big debut. He single-handedly sank five Federation warships. He returned to Zum City as the victorious Red Comet.

After the Antarctic Treaty was signed on January 31, the war went cold. Zeon commenced an invasion of Earth itself and overran roughly half the surface. Both factions spent the majority of the intervening months licking their wounds and occasionally engaging in proxy battles every-so-often. It became a time of paranoia and rampant jingoism. Such sentiments existed since the Munzo Revolution in 0058, but the wake of January intensified it. While the Federation pursued a policy of containment, both sides began an arms race. With the painful lessons taught a Loum, the Federation began to take the concept of mobile weaponry more seriously and initiated Operation V.

It was only through a stroke of luck that the Zeon brass discovered this project's existence. A punitive raid by a group of Mobile Marines against the EFSF forward base of Luna II brought a report of a new horse-shaped capital ship.

Char just happened to be in the vicinity.

* * *

Afternoon at Green Noa. School had just let out at Simmons Academy. Most of the kids ran off to do whatever before going home to do homework (something many of their tiny minds would consider awful), but in one small nook on the campus, two children sat at a table strewn with workbooks. One child was a beady-eyed boy with dark hair and the other a little golden-haired girl in red boots and daisy dukes about half his age.

"So look here," he explained calmly "you have three candies and one popsicle, four in all. If you eat a piece of candy and the popsicle melts while you do, what are you left with?"

The little girl stared at the problem in her notebook that the boy was reading to her. She tried so hard to think of an answer, even going as far as growling. Subtraction was breaking her mind and she finally knocked everything off the table with a ground-shaking "KIKKA HAS NO IDEA!"

The boy moaned. His tutoring tools were all over the ground and he had to gather them up. Even though little Kikka was a little advanced (in some ways) for a four-year-old, she wasn't very patient.

As he gathered the scattered papers and workbooks, three shadows loomed over him. A trio of boys, the same age as he, with very dirty expressions on their faces stared him down.

"What'cha doin' there?" asked the first with a menacing grin.

"Time to go home you two," the second said with folded arms.

"Don't be having a date," said the third.

The little tutor denied it. "Her Mom asked me to help with her homework, okay?"

"Maybe you could teach her to pee in the bathroom first," the second replied.

"Yeah, Kitty Katz and Baby Kikka!" the third remarked. "A match made in heaven!"

He blushed.

"Hah! You're all red," they teased. "Red as a tomato. Pretty suspicious."

"It's not like that!"

"Katz likes little girls! Katz likes little girls!"

He didn't stop blushing from their mockery, but tears welled up in his eyes.

A sudden "Hey!" from behind caught the little dorks' attention and the next thing they knew, one of them got a fist in the face.

Another kid joined in. He was a little bit shorter than them. He had red overalls, swarthy skin, buck teeth, and curly hair. His expression cold. "Pick on someone your own size!"

They wasted no time getting out of Dodge, threatening to tell the teacher on him in the morning.

No sooner had they gone did a car roll up. It was Mrs. Kitamoto, Kikka's mother.

Kikka gathered her stuff and scurried to the car, making a hushed crinkle with every step.

"Isn't that Letz Cofan, the troublemaker?" the woman asked her daughter.

"Yup," Kikka confirmed as she took a seat. "He's so strong and cool!"

"I don't want you playing with boys like him."

"He punched a bully! POW! right in the face!"

Katz and Letz watched as the Kitamotos drove off. Letz kicked a small rock sitting on the pavement. He couldn't stand kids who gang up on others.

"Is that you over there, Letz?" a voice cried out. "I want to talk to you." It was a much older girl. Mid-adolescent, chestnut hair, a sweater and skirt.

Her very sight made rough-and-ready Letz go pale. "Uh-oh! It's aunt Fraw Bow from the ninth grade! Missy Prefect!" He tried to run, but she nabbed him by the back of his overalls.

The girl's glare was lethal. "Aunt _who?_" she demanded. "Was it your mouth that said?"

Letz wouldn't dare say a word, even when she let him go.

"You can't just go skipping school all the time!" Fraw said in a stern voice. "You won't be able to catch up! Your teacher's very worried about you, too! Your daddy would be sad if he came home and found out."

Her words cut him deep.

It wasn't like she was trying be cruel to Letz or anything. The boy's mother passed away not too long ago and his father Jaime got called away to serve in the Federation Navy. In the previous month, the elder Cofan was involved in an operation to recapture his unit's home port in Hawaii. It was a tactical failure and the end of his life. The boy was an orphan now, but nobody had the heart to tell him. She was taking it upon herself to take care of him.

Katz tried to lighten the mood. "Hey," he said to Letz "come over to my house. My Mom has to stay over at work. It's scary alone. I'll make dinner, too."

"Oh, you can cook, Katz?" Fraw asked.

"Yes," said Katz "I'm pretty good at making potato salad and curry."

Fraw smiled at this. _Cooking at eight, huh? To think you're more capable of taking care of yourself than Amuro._

* * *

Dusk.

Fraw Bow walked down the street with a cloth tote bag as the lamps turned on. Soon, she came to her destination. _The den's light is on_, she thought, _at least he's not still in his bedroom._ She walked to the front door and rang the bell. "Amuro?"

A voice replied from the other side of the door: "Come in. I'm in the middle of something…"

She unlocked the door and the first thing she saw coming in was a mahogany-haired teenage boy in a long-sleeved shirt, kneeling on the floor. On his left was a pink towel with various wrenches, screwdrivers, bolts, and other objects strewn across it. Currently, he was fiddling around with what could only be described as a green robot basketball. The rest of the room was in half-way decent shape as well—a rarity given his record of cleanliness.

"Is Haro broken?" Fraw asked.

"He's been acting funny since this morning," Amuro said, closing the robot's access panel.

The robot's eyes flashed pink and its two upper panels flapped open like wings for a second. Then it rolled toward the girl and chirped "Hi, Fraw. Pretty as always."

She was confused. _That _was "acting funny"?

As Amuro went back to trying to fix Haro, Fraw Bow proceeded into the boy's kitchen. The counter was mess and the dishes weren't washed. She reached into her bag and pulled out a container of the pepperoni spaghetti bake she, her mother, and uncle had eaten for supper on the table and put a few small Tupperware containers into his refrigerator. "I bet you haven't eaten yet," she said "and I brought you breakfast, too."

Amuro began to eat. "It's good," he said, though he said it in a zoned-out tone (much to Fraw's annoyance).

"Could you drive me to the docking bay when the supply ship comes in tomorrow morning?" Fraw asked. "I have lots of stuff to get."

Amuro didn't reply. He took a sip of milk and kept eating.

Her stuff in the kitchen finished, she passed by Amuro on her way out. "Also, you really need to take a shower every day!" she told him sharply. "You smell!"

This got Amuro to finally make eye contact with her. It felt awkward, but it was like calling out his subpar hygiene was the one thing that got his mind back in that kitchen.

Fraw felt awkward, too. She stepped away from him, shaking her head and mumbling under her breath as she headed for the front door. "See you in the morning," she said. "Don't forget! I'll come over! Goodnight!"

* * *

This is Amuro Ray:

An introverted immigrant from the Earth's surface. A handy man. An anime geek. A gearhead.

And a slob. One to the extent that he could have a guest over and he'd be in his underwear.

He moved to Side 7 with his father Tem as soon as its single bunch was habitable. An engineer in the Federation military, the elder Ray was rarely home. Thus, Amuro had nobody to talk to or show him how to do things.

At school, while he was a competent student, Amuro rarely interacted with other people. Because of the disproportionate amount of time he tinkered around with things from watches to ancient game consoles, the other students would often joke that his mother was a computer and his father a soda machine behind his back. He really didn't care.

In fact, he didn't seem to have any respect for himself either. He could spend hours in his bedroom rewiring an old computer before eating and had a tendency to not change out of his bed clothes on a day off.

You could make the analogy that he was a B-Mode kid in an A-Mode world: everything he seemed to do was either half-assed or even quarter-assed.

Even though he was the man of the house 80% of the time, the house was always a dump: something Tem berated him over and over again for.

He eventually made a friend in Fraw Bow. She was the closest thing to a guardian he had at that point. Even she was aware of his quirks.

On Christmas Eve, just ten days before January 3, she caught him cooped up in his room, fiddling away on his computer while every news source was reporting on the rapidly disintegrating relations between Earth and Zeon. They were on the doorstep of war and he was just keeping his isolated habits going.

The truth was, though, he was aware of the situation. He was scared too.

But what could he do about it?

* * *

In the hangar of the _Falmel_, the intercom blared: "All pilots to the launch pad! But do not board yet. Wait in front of your mobile suits for a final pep talk!"

Five green-clad Zeon pilots swam through the pressurized passageway for their Zakus.

Along the way, one bumped his way through without a shred of thought.

"What the hell?!" the pilot behind his rude colleague yelled. "You bump into someone and don't even apologize?"

He man kept going.

"Who is that, Ash?"

The more courteous pilot behind him answered. "That's Gene. Forget about him. It's his first time out and he's all wound up."

"Pissing his pants, is he?" the victim scoffed.

That remark made Gene turn around and shove his face in his.

"What's your problem?" the pilot demanded from the fuming man staring in his face from a foot away.

"Yeah, it's my first mission, so what?" Gene growled. "I don't give a shit how many times you've been out in a Zaku! What've _you_ got to show for it? Nothing!"

Gene got shoved away and into the wall.

A fight broke out between the two men. Ash tried to intervene: "Pacheco, cut it out! You too, Gene!"

Pacheco's nose was bleeding by this point, but Gene wasn't stopping. He had a switchblade with his name on it.

The highest ranked of the six men, Denim, tried to stop the escalation. "Hey, Gene! Put that away, man! We're about to go on a mission! Don't do this!"

"I can't stand this guy acting like an old veteran," Gene hissed "when he can't fight for shit!" He to lunge forward and slash at Pacheco, but someone grabbed him by the wrist.

Char.

Gene froze. His CO's mask obscured his expression, but he was clearly not happy.

"Exactly who taught you to bring a knife to a mobile suit fight?" the Comet asked, coldly. He twisted Gene's wrist, causing him to lose his grip on the weapon.

The irate upstart fell to his knees, panting.

The fight was over.

"Stay where you are and listen," said Char. "This is a crucial mission. You'll need to be alert and truly brave, too." He closed the switchblade and sent it wheeling into Gene's face. "If we pull it off, I will cite all of you to Admiral Dozle for distinguished service rewards. So men, don't be shy."

* * *

The Musai was much closer to the bunch: a large O'Neill cylinder. They were so the crew on the bridge could see the agricultural ring.

Still invisible to their eye was their quarry.

"Lieutenant Dren," the tech announced. "Instruments report that the 'Trojan Horse' has moved alongside the berth for now. She'll make port tomorrow. Also, the Space Gate has sent a message to us, asking if we were planning on docking. The staff demand to know our name, fleet affiliation, and our business here."

Dren smirked. "Humor them. We'll berth eventually, but for now, let's keep them distracted. Bring up Denim's Zaku."

The large monitor above the bridge switched to another channel.

"Master Sergeant Denim," he said, "are you on standby? You're launching in no time. Follow a great-circle route to get to the antipode. Got that? Maintain radio silence until you reach the target. No Vernier thrust, only air. The blind spot is straight out from the colony's central axis. Think of it as a narrow tube. Stay inside it."

The tech announced the opening of the hangar hatch and counted down.

A team of Zaku II's entered the vacuum. Six green giants drifting in a black void.


	3. Team Fighters: Saving Princess Sally

We move ever closer to Mobian involvement in the One Year War and soon we break ranks with ASO and go our own way. For those of you who aren't familiar with the Universal Century, the Principality of Zeon shared numerous stylistic, military, and political influences from the Nazis, the Soviets, and the Japanese Empire. In fact, among the Gundam fans, Marshal Gihren Zabi (who has yet to appear in this crossover) is nicknamed "Space Hitler"!

On that note, the song sung by the Zeon sailors later on in this chapter is an adaptation of "The Good Comrade", a 200+-year-old German military funeral march still in use today.

* * *

**Bunch 1 (Green Noa), Side 7**

**Tuesday, September 18, UC 0079**

Amuro opened his eyes, but apart from the screensaver on his desktop, he was surrounded by darkness. It was already after midnight by the computer's clock. He'd fallen asleep working once again.

He sniffed his shirtsleeve. Fraw did have a point about him smelling bad.

He began to undress. He'd jump in the shower and go straight to bed.

Yet as he tossed his shirt aside, the boy noticed something. It was so late at night, but outside was getting brighter. It was as if the Sun had exploded, but in slow motion.

Everything went white.

* * *

Elsewhere, aboard a chrome battle fortress, the same bath of light subsided.

Sonic the Hedgehog shook his head. _My brain feels like it's been Spin Dashing in my skull_, he thought. _Sure hope the kid made it back to his world alright. _He looked around: he was back on the Death Egg. Silver was there, so were Tails and Amy, and the roboticized Sally was motionless on the floor.

Silver looked down at the cybernetic princess then at his palms. He was successful in incapacitating her. "I… I did it!" he said "She was about to…"

"Nice work," Sonic interrupted. "Don't let it go to your head, Silverfish."

Amy leaned on her hammer. "So… what now?"

Guntiver, head of the Arctic Freedom Fighters, came running up to the group. An orange wolf in a green vest, he approached in a sweat. "We've got more badniks coming!" he said "Augustus is wounded and we can't fight and retreat at the same time!"

"Sonic, we'll never get anywhere like this," said Tails. "We should scout ahead and find a way to cut these robots off at the source!"

"And clear a path for you to get out of here," Sonic added. He turned to Silver, who had the deactivated Mecha Sally levitating about a foot off the floor. "Hold on tight to Sal for me, okay?"

"Don't worry," the grey hedgehog said. "She won't be going anywhere."

Sonic smirked. "Then this'll be a piece of cake," he smirked. He faced Tails and with his typical hot-blooded demeanor said "Let's go, Little Bro!"

The two blasted down the hallway, leaving their comrades to tend to the wounded Augustus.

Flip Penguin and Sealia Seal struggled to get the burly polar bear back on his feet. Enemy fire meant for his teammate Erma Ermine was taken by him. It wasn't fatal, thankfully, but it hurt.

"How's Augustus?" Amy asked. "Is he alright?"

Flip grunted as he supported the subject in question. "Marginally better than when Ahklut threw him into a cliff."

"I think he is just stunned," said Sealia. "Worry about covering us, _mon ami_."

A most agreeable suggestion. Amy, Guntiver, and Erma charged forward as Egg SWATs began pouring into the hall.

* * *

New Mobotropolis.

What had started off as a doll had evolved into the love child of Lovecraft and Giger and broke through the roof of the power plant. Its goal: reduce the area to a radioactive waste.

Team Freedom, the local peacekeepers for the Republic of Acorn, were at a loss about fighting it.

Having just managed to evade one of the abomination's large tentacles.

NICOLE, the newly-rehabilitated AI, looked about. Rotor Walrus and Big the Cat were floored on the ground beside her. Cream the Rabbit, her chao Cheese, and the robots Bomb and Heavy had taken the high road in avoiding the beast's lash by flying or jumping. "Rotor, it's absorbing all of the nearby nanites to maintain that form. That means you, Heavy, and Bomb are all susceptible as well."

The chrome, weight-like robot concurred: "I certainly would dislike being absorbed into that monstrosity."

"You're right," said Rotor "but we can't let that thing destroy the power scrubbers and irradiate the city." He stroked his chin. "We need a way to lure it away from the power plant while also keeping our distance. One of us has to volunteer as a decoy."

"I-I'll d-do it," little Cream stuttered. "I'm the one who found that doll and brought it into the city, so it's my responsibility." She ran toward the aberration, despite Rotor's attempt to call her back, jumped and started flapping her ears. She was scared and the monster was the most awful things she'd ever seen, but she was going to do this. She looked into its red crystal "eye" and smiled. "Mr. Dolly, you don't need to listen to that nasty Dr. Eggman. If you give Ms. Nicole her nanites back, we can all go back to my house and have tea parties like we—!"

SWOOSH! A tentacle just missed her.

"Am I doing it right, Mr. Rotor?" she cried out.

"You're doing great Cream!" Rotor yelled "We just need to draw it out a little more."

"I think it's stuck," said Big, pointing.

The creature was caught behind the walls of the plant and had a tentacle tangled in the generator.

Rotor tried firing a few rounds from his wrist, but they bounced off of the behemoth's steely exoskeleton. "Shoot, you're right! We've got no choice but to make it mad enough to chase us! Heavy, Bomb, give me some cover fire! Everyone else, start running!"

"With pleasure!" said Heavy. He scooped up Bomb and pitched him at the massive beast. Rotor and Big made tracks, Nicole dispersed, and Cream flew out of the way.

Bomb impacted the target. A powerful blast was created, but the little robot emerged from the fireball without a scratch.

The same could be said for the monster, which was now lunging forward with such force the walls of the plant were giving way.

* * *

Sonic and Tails had just managed to break through a line of Egg SWATs and could now keep going.

"You know, why can't we just blow this place up like before?" Sonic complained.

"It's too risky," said Tails. "We'd never make it out in time. We need to focus on getting Sally out of here safe and sound!"

"I know, I know," Sonic shot back. "But it would be nice to end this once and—"

"WHERE'S THAT BLASTED PART?!"

The familiar sound of an angry Dr. Eggman could be heard in the next room. This made the duo stop. They turned the corner to find the ovular madman and his two robot assistants Orbot and Cubot rummaging through steel crates.

"You two stop dawdling and help me find the bio-analyzer!" he yelled. "If Sonic manages to get past Mecha Sally, he cannot be allowed to get ahold of it."

Bio-analyzer? "That sounds important," Sonic whispered. "You don't think…"

"That it could be used to change Sally back?" Tails suggested.

"You got it." Sonic proceeded to stroll into the room where his enemy was distracted looking for his gadget. "Hey, Eggman! Wanna get scrambled?"

The sight of Sonic a few yards away got the mad doctor jumping.

The hedgehog grinned. "We've already got Sally and you're… running towards a dead end."

Eggman turned tail and ran away, promising "We'll just see about that!" with his two robot lackeys clinging to the back of his coat.

"Eggman must have something in there," said Tails. "You sure you want to go ahead?"

"Well someone has to keep him distracted long enough so you can find that part," said Sonic. He wasn't worried at all. "Besides, it's probably another robot-of-the-week. I've been starting to miss those." He dashed after Eggman with a Figure-8 Peel-out.

Tails, left behind to find the bio-analyzer only wished him luck.

Surely, he could handle it.

* * *

The shambling nightmare was free of the power plant and was able to roam New Mobotropolis. Currently, it was roaming a civilian sector as Cream gave her all to keep "Mr. Dolly" occupied.

Rotor was running out of options. The tools on his nanosuit were hardly slowing it down and one could only question how long the little girl would be able to keep going. "Cream," he cried "can you distract it just a bit longer?!"

She was tried, but she kept going. "I'll try, Mr. Ro—CHEESE, WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!"

The little blue chao fluttered up to the monstrosity's "eye", but as he approached it was covered up by the beast's bug-like maw.

"CHEESE, LOOK OUT!" In a daring move, Cream swooped in and scooped up Cheese before he was crushed by the tentacles of "Mr. Dolly".

Heavy detected the defensive reaction the monster made. "Sir," he said "I couldn't help but notice it was quick to defend that red gem against a chao. I believe I've found its power source."

This news made Rotor's day. "Good observation, Heavy!" he said "Now we just gotta find a way to hit it hard enough. NICOLE, are you there?"

NICOLE materialized on the walrus' eight and asked "Have you figured something out?"

"Huddle up," he told them. "Here's the plan."

Big used his fishing rod to catch Cream and Cheese and reel them back down.

At the same time, the huddle between Rotor, Heavy, Bomb, and NICOLE was broken. "Got it?" said Rotor, all gung-ho "Then let's get to work! Hit it hard, but watch out for collateral damage!"

"Controlled demolition?" Heavy remarked "My specialty!"

Cream, clear of the abomination, fluttered beside Big.

"Are you okay, Cream?" Big asked "That monster is scary."

"Thank you, Mr. Big," she said. "I'm alright, I just need a moment to get my wits togeth—GYEEP!"

The sudden teleporting of NICOLE between her and Big scared Cream. "Forgive me for startling you, Cream," said the AI lynx "but we have little time. Rotor has a plan to defeat that monster, but we'll need your help."

"I'll do whatever I can to help, Ms. NICOLE," said Cream upon landing. "What do you need."

The violet-garbed AI leaned over and whispered into her ear.

* * *

"Dude! You can't outrun me! This is over. You've got nothing left to fight me with!"

It could never be explained how Eggman could maintain a lead over Sonic for small distances, but then again, our knowledge of physics has yet to grow to the extent that an answer can be provided. Yet this was just another showcase of this fact.

Sonic seized the moment, though, and spin dashed into the corpulent Eggman, knocking him over (and Orbot and Cubot with him by extension). "Doesn't that feel familiar?" the hedgehog said with a vicious timbre. "But now there's no Mecha Sally here to save your ass and this time, I'm not really interested in mercy."

Orbot and Cubot cowered in front of their master, expecting the worst from Sonic.

Eggman was panting, having been pursued by his mortal enemy throughout the cargo hold. "Sonic," he said, puffing like a fish out of water "please, I'm begging you. I just need to DO THIS!"

A ruse! He had a plan up his sleeve. He flung the lid of a tall wood crate open like a closet door and a squat copper-colored mass fell out, face-first. It soon stood on its feet and its bulbous eyes lit up bright blue.

The doctor laughed. "Did you really think you had me cornered, Sonic?" he announced with all the smugness he could muster. "This lovely gift from the Soumerca Chapter will wipe that insufferable smirk off your face."

"Another robot-of-the-week after all, huh?" said Sonic, completely unimpressed. "Let's see if it can last longer than five seconds. Then we'll get back to business." Sonic revved up a Spin Dash and slammed right into the robot, knocking it into the box is was house in and shattered it to splinters. "On a scale of one to ten, that was a minus three. Nice try, Eggman."

The robot sat back up.

"Fight!" Eggman screamed "Why won't you fight?! Even Cubot could've lasted longer than you!"

"Er, ve're not testing zat theory, right?" Cubot worriedly asked (his faulty vocal chip having randomly switched to a pseudo-German accent some time ago).

The eyes of Eggman's present brightened into an almost-whitish blue and let out the words: "Spin attack, copy." In an instant, the robot rolled into a copper ball crashed into Sonic as the hedgehog had done to it a few seconds ago.

Sonic glared at the robot that had just knocked off his skill. "Okay, _maybe_ a five."

Eggman went silent from the sudden change of events that had just happened, but if it hurt Sonic, he was all for it. "Now that's more like it, my feisty robot! Destroy Sonic while I get us out of here!"

The robot charged up another Spin Dash, but Sonic leaped out of the way this time. He was ready for whatever it was going to do. "You may be able to copy my moves," he said "but I bet you can't keep up with my speed!"

* * *

"Mr. Dolly" was tearing through Green Pine Mall as if it were made of graham crackers as Team Freedom fought to subdue it.

Heavy pitched Bomb toward the titanic terror again, but this time Rotor shot the small robot as Cream wrangled the beast's attention. The explosion was bigger and brighter, but did minuscule damage to the aberration. Yet that was hardly the purpose.

"Now's your chance, Big!" Rotor yelled. "Do it."

The rotund, purple cat slung his rod toward the nightmare before him. He hooked its "eye" and tried to reel it to him like a fish.

The monster let out an anguished roar. One that seemed to come from out of the bowels of the earth. It attempted to swat Big with a tentacle, but Cream came down on it as hard as she could, pinning the appendage to the ground.

"No!" she screamed. "Don't attack my friends anymore!"

The crystal was finally dislodged from the monster and shattered on the ground.

It let out a shrill, unearthly scream as it grew increasingly brighter and suddenly popped like a balloon.

"The nanites are dispersing," said Nicole. "It's over."

Nothing was left of that abomination except for the creepy-looking Tails-like toy it had spawned from, sans the crystal.

Cream scowled at the now-harmless trinket. "You're in very big trouble now, dolly."

"Good work, Team Freedom," Rotor told his teammates. "Once again New Mobotropolis is safe because of us! Another Eggman robot defeated, no one was injured, and the city's automated repair systems should clean up all the damage in no time."

"All in a day's work," said Heavy. "Right, Bomb?"

Bomb pinged in agreement.

"Thank you all for defending my—no, our city," said NICOLE, very much relieved. "I only hope that Team Fighters is having similar success."

* * *

Little did Nicole know that the copper robot was giving Sonic an increasingly difficult time.

"Fine," Sonic said, between breaths. "You're a seven." At this point, it was tit-for-tat: Eggman's present was evenly matched with the hedgehog. He'd fall back for now. "Look, buddy, I'd love to hang around and pummel you some more, but I've got some friends and a robot flame to save! Ciao!"

Even though Sonic sped away from it, the robot attempted to pursue throughout the labyrinthine Death Egg, but soon lost his trail.

Eventually, Sonic got to a dark room with a large multi-monitored computer and several keyboards. It was devoid of any occupants. It didn't take Sonic that long to come to the conclusion that this was a control room. It would be one big wrench in the system if he were to total the place.

And he did.

Stepping out of the room, feeling very satisfied with his work, looked around. "Now what else can I blow up!"

"Hey, Sonic!"

His attempt to run off in search of something else to wreck was cut short by Tails, who came running up from behind. "Tails, did you find that bio-doohickey?"

The young fox gave a thumbs-up.

The duo took off together to find Amy and the others.

"Eggman got way, though," Sonic said with disappointment. "Pulled out another one of his robots again."

"Well, there's always next time," Tails assured him. "Eggman won't be able to get away from us forever."

"Yeah, I know," said Sonic, a bit worn out from his recent fight. "Let's go take Sally home."

* * *

"Oh, I hate that hedgehog!"

Eggman fumed when he saw the awful shape his badnik control terminal was in: monitors smashed or cracked, consoles mangled. Sonic was here. There was no other explanation for how it got like that. He used the little bit that still functioned to cycle through security channels before coming across a group of Mobians hurriedly making their way down a corridor. But what set him off was what they had with them.

He bared his teeth when he saw it. "Wait! Is that really—?"

"Your most tactically important minion slipping through your fingers?" Cubot suggested. "Why, yes, I do believe it is."

With a tone of annoyance, the doctor gave an order: "Get to the main control room and prepare to launch the Death Egg. **Now.**"

"Are you sure that's a good idea, boss?" Orbot asked hesitantly. "The Death Egg hasn't been fully refueled yet and—!"

"DO IT."

* * *

After what felt like an eternity, the team had emerged from the grounded battlestation and hurried back to the Tornado. Amy, in particular, was elated to see the sky again. They wasted no time securing the deactivated Mecha Sally to the plane by way of a crane-like claw.

Augustus, thankfully, was alright. He felt bad about being dead weight for them all, but Sealia promised to get him looked at.

Sonic took Guntiver's hand and shook it. "Thanks," he said. "We couldn't have even gotten to Sally without your help."

"It's been our pleasure," said the wolf. "If you need some assistance again, you'll know where to find us."

Soon, the Arctic Freedom Fighters and Team Fighters parted ways. Silver flew piggyback with the Tornado while Sonic and Amy were perched on the wings.

"So what's the plan now?" asked Silver.

"The Tornado will keep Sally in stasis while we head back to New Mobotropolis," Tails explained. "I already radioed ahead to Uncle Chuck and asked him and Rotor to get started on a de-roboticizer. Now it's just a matter of getting back home and installing this part."

Sonic looked over the side. Something wasn't right.

The Arctic Circle was enclosed entirely by land, save for a small strait connecting the Great Mobocean far to the west and the Frozen North Sea. Far beneath them was water all around and the occasional barren island. Something wasn't right.

"Um, Tails," he said. "Are we sure we're going the right way?"

"Trust me, Sonic, the navicomputer has the coordinates for New Mobotropolis. We'd have to do something incredibly stupid to get lost."

Tails knew his stuff. It wasn't in the hedgehog to doubt his friend. Yet ever since the whiteout earlier, there was an itch in the back of his mind he couldn't reach. _I hope you're right._

* * *

The Hudson Bay.

On the surface of the immense body of water, a large dark object could be seen. About a dozen Zeon sailors had gathered on the hull to bid farewell to a crewmate. His corpse was placed in a body bag and zipped up. The bag was set on a long board and covered with the country's flag. Apart from the lapping of waves against the hull of the large submarine, the only sound that could be heard was the melancholic chorus of the men gathered:

_I once had a comrade,_

_The best that one could find,_

_When the call to arms was sounded,_

_We marched with our hearts unbounded,_

_In perfect pace and stride,_

_In perfect pace and stride._

_A bullet came a-flying,_

_Was it meant for him or me?_

_In an instant he was swept away,_

_In an instant on the ground he lay,_

_So cold and stiff at my feet,_

_So cold and stiff at my feet._

_As I restocked my rifle,_

_He extended me his hand,_

_I can't stop the fight to hold your hand,_

_Go now to where life will never end,_

_My honorable comrade,_

_My honorable comrade._

The board was raised and the body bag slid down and out from under the flag, falling into the bay.

All present saluted the corpse's departure for the bottom.

"No words," said Third Captain Flanagan Boone.

Silence came over the group. In the distance, an engine could be heard.

The sailors' attention was shifted to starboard. A small blue dot could just be seen in the distance.

Was it a Feddie craft?

* * *

"Mein Freund," Cubot said, cringing "are you sure this is a gut idea?"

"He'd find out soon enough," said Orbot. "Sir, I'm afraid the Death Egg currently does not have enough fuel to launch."

"Of course it doesn't." Eggman said, sourly. His eyes were focused on video of the Tornado flying away. "Have you launched Metal Sonic and that copy robot?"

"They're just heading out, sir," Orbot answered.

"Open a channel to Metal Sonic," he ordered. It didn't take long for the frequency to get changed to that of the robot in question. "Sonic the Hedgehog has stolen my most important asset from," the doctor said. "Retrieve her, no matter what the cost to yourself or others. Do not focus on defeating Sonic or his friends. Recapturing her will be victory enough, but if you cannot bring Mecha Sally back to me you are authorized to destroy her."

* * *

A Zeon Earth Occupation base in the southern Notre Dame Mountains, near the US-Canadian border.

Major Boris Schwieger gazed out into the picturesque mountain range before him. Despite the beauty of mountains on the surface of the Earth, the current situation was very much like the war as a whole at that point: a bore. Despite the North American continent being almost entirely under the thumb of the Zeon Expeditionary Force, it seemed unlikely that the Federation would try to take such a backwater base like that. Nevertheless, orders were orders.

The monotony was soon broken.

"Major Schwieger," said a tech "we've detected an object approaching our airspace. It seems to be coming from the direction of Hudson Bay."

"Probably Koloff," the officer said. "He took a Dopp out on sortie about an hour ago."

"Negative, it's a bit smaller. It can't be IDed at this time."

"It couldn't be a Feddie fighter," Schwieger remarked. "Radio Orlter's Luggun, I want all the information we can gather about it."


	4. Amuro Ray: Gundam Rising

**Side 7 Airspace.**

**Tuesday, September 18, UC 0079**

**0600 Hours**

* * *

Six Zeon Zaku II mobile suits steadily zeroed in on the far side of the single bunch at Side 7, machine guns in hand. Less than an hour had elapsed since they were given their orders and much longer still since a white flash consumed everything. It had no apparent effect on anyone, but it got the _Falmel_ jumping a bit earlier. As much as the six pilots wanted to discuss the phenomenon, they were under strict orders to keep radio silence.

Only short, powerful bursts of oxygen were propelling the Zakus toward their destination.

Soon, the team was at the skeletal frame at the antipode. Had construction not stopped, it would have been finished long ago. It was all left to rot.

The mobile suits touched down on the hull and soon found a large hatch.

Denim's Zaku soon found a lock and fired a single shell from his machine gun, breaking it. It kneeled down toward an adjacent dial and opened it. Two doors clanked as they rolled open.

The suits began to descend through the hatch. A distant wail could be heard from within the cylinder.

This was where radio silence was broken. _"Master Sergeant,"_ said Slender _"There's a siren going off!"_

_ "Calm down,"_ said Denim "It's on the other side of the barrier. A ship just docked at the bay."

_"You think it's the 'Trojan Horse', sir?"_ Pacheco asked.

"It's likely." Denim's Zaku grazed a crane inside the shaft and knocked it loose. It became debris, drifting out into space along with the little escaping air.

* * *

Christened two months ago, the new EFS _White Base_, guided by a laser-light runway eased toward the Space Gate of Green Noa. The second of the Federation's _Pegasus_-class battleships, she looked for all the world like her line's namesake.

In the vessel's living quarters, a young officer walked forward. A tall, young man with small winking eyes and dark hair that seemed to have a greenish-blue sheen to it. He reached his destination, a small cabin on his left and opened it. On the other side of the door was an older man in a collar shirt looking at a bunch of papers strewn across a small table. "Dr. Ray," he said "we've made port at Side 7, sir. The captain would like to see you. Would you please come to the bridge?"

"Yes, of course. Lieutenant Junior Grade Bright, was it?" He said as he donned a blazer jacket. "Have you been on supply duty long?"

"No, sir. I used to be on the front."

"Well, this ship has a crucial mission," said Tem as he fixed his tie in front of a mirror. "Not unlike being at the front."

Bright took notice of a picture sitting on the table. It was of a boy with ruddy hair that seemed to be attempting to form an afro, but not quite. "Is that your son, sir?"

"Yes," Tem confirmed. "Just fifteen. Next to a smart young man like yourself, he's just a child." Tem looked as dapper as he could and was ready to leave for the bridge. "Though I hear kids that young are being drafted nowadays. Terrible!"

Bright had heard such stories.

Yet Tem was still confident. "But once we start mass-producing the Gundam, this war will be over," he said. "We can put an end to it without wasting young lives."

Tem and Bright made their way to the elevator at the end of the hall. The elevator would take them to the highest point aboard, the bridge.

It opened with a hiss. Right ahead as the docking bay of the bunch.

From the captain's chair the aging Paolo Cassius took notice of the two men entering. "I hope you got some rest, Dr. Ray."

"Thank you, sir," Tem saluted. "It's been a nice, relaxing flight."

"That's good to hear."

"And what about that Zeon ship that tailed us here?"

"So, you did notice." Paolo motioned to the large monitor above them. A green Musai had been moored next to a docking satellite. "It's at berth, doctor. By treaty, military ships aren't allowed to dock at Side 7, so the problem is the return flight."

"Do you think they'll try anything?"

The captain thought about Tem's question for a moment. "This is a civilian supply ship," he said. "If they're shameless enough to attack us, neither of us will come out smelling like roses."

* * *

Amuro only got three hours of sleep. When he came to, he was back at work.

This time, he had one specific thing in mind: cracking the riddle of the Gundam.

Just before the war broke out, he discovered that his father's office was loaded from wall to wall with data on something called "Operation V": a plan to develop mobile suits for the Federation. Apparently, it was all going down in the construction block. Back in January, Kai Shiden, his neighbor Hayato, and a few other boys tried to break into that area to find out just what they were doing behind locked doors. They almost got killed for entering a restricted area. The soldiers let him off easy since he was Dr. Ray's son and sent him home; the others, though, got their asses beaten flush against the ground. After that, a lot of the other kids at school no longer trusted Amuro, especially Kai's gang.

They all accused the Rays of trying to get Side 7 wrapped up in the war.

His attempts to learn more about the project only got him a lecture from a Federal officer, who urged the boy to forget about the Gundam for his own good. This resulted in the removal of all Operation V data from the study. He was convinced that the construction block was where the Gundam was. Where else would it be?

Between January and September, Tem would return a couple of times. Fortunately, the house wasn't as devastated by neglect (thanks to Fraw, for the most part), so he didn't get chewed out as bad as he could have. There were instances where Amuro lucked out and did happen to find specs on Operation V amid the mess in his bedroom. Stuff he'd taken from the office and had only recently rediscovered. He was grateful that the agents weren't totally thorough.

Even though he had a surviving disc, cracking through the security on it was about as easy rolling a steel cube up a steel slope during a monsoon. By first light, the most he was able to find on it were some Gundam schematics, a bunch of weird numbers, and (for some reason) specs on a Zaku II.

Fraw Bow was at the door and she could be seen on the door-cam. _"Amuro, the supply ship's come in!"_

He looked up from his computer at the girl on the screen. "The door's open." He went back to his rummaging. There was data on colony design and a fusion reactor in the prototype mobile suits' torsos.

He could hear the office door swing open. Nothing happened right away, but Haro emerged from a pile of books, CDs, and game cases in the corner and said "Good morning, Fraw! Morning! Morning!"

As soon as Fraw laid eyes on Amuro—groggy, nothing on but boxers and a muscle shirt—she screamed. She tossed a yellow shirt and blue jeans at him and yelled "Put some clothes on, now!" She stooped down to gather bits and pieces of junk he'd left all over the floor. "How did it get like this in here?" she asked with annoyance "I just picked up for you the other day! Are you even allowed in your father's office when he's away? Won't you get in trouble?"

"Don't worry, Fraw," he said as he dressed "He's Earthside on a business trip."

"Isn't he coming home today on that supply ship that just docked?"

Amuro paused for a moment. Now he remembered: Fraw wanted to go to the ship that was docking that morning.

Fraw groaned and stormed out. "I'm done with you!"

* * *

Fraw stepped out onto Amuro's doorstep to let off a little steam. She liked Amuro well enough but he was always spaced out. Maintaining patience was a monstrous task. It was just then that she noticed Hayato Kobayashi, Amuro's stocky neighbor of the same age hopping on his motorcycle. "Honestly, Hayato," she said, still reeling from Amuro's… Amuroness "You two are neighbors! You should act like it!"

The boy's face, a second ago happy to see Fraw, made a one-eighty. "Is this about Amuro?" he asked coldly "His Dad's working for the military."

Fraw blinked. "What? He's just in charge of construction for the bunch."

"How do you know what they're doing on this side of the barrier?" he looked toward Amuro's open garage. He'd just started up his jeep. "I wish they'd never come here."

On that note, Hayato rode off and Amuro rolled out of the garage.

Amuro was at the wheel, eating a piece of toast: all he could manage. Haro was in the back seat.

Fraw shook her head. "You have no manners."

They took to the road just as Amuro finished the toast. "So where are we going again?" he asked.

"The docking bay!"

"Oh, right! Sorry!"

Fraw felt like she could slap him right now. "Amuro, get it together!" she complained. "My Mom told me to get lots of sugar, flour, and detergent. Supplies are low, so it's rough on everyone. Especially since construction's at a standstill."

* * *

One last set of doors had been busted open. The team of Zakus now overlooked the far end of the construction zone. Or rather what they could, it was dark and the occasional spotlight from an observation tower illuminated some of the area.

_"The area's pressurized," _said Denim. _"Oxygen concentration is optimal."_

_ "How far to the barrier?" _asked Pacheco.

_"About five kilometers," _Denim replied. _"There's sensors all over the place. Don't trip them. Slender, you stay behind. If things for us start to go south, radio a mayday to Commander Char."_

_ "Aye-aye, sir."_

_ "Gene, you're with me. Ash Squad, you'll scout on the left."_

_ "Yes, sir!"_

_ "Master Sarge," _asked Gene _"if we come across that _thing _should we destroy it?" _

_ "Negative,"_ Denim responded _"this is a recon mission. Commander Char wants intel, not action."_

Denim and Gene's Zakus were the first to drop from the hatch. Ash, Fleetway, and Pacheco followed less than a minute after the first two were clear.

Fleetway looked around: ricochet-proof walls, observation towers, a minefield, anti-armor jacks. This was no construction site, it was a testing ground!

Soon, his searchlight came across something on the ground: it looked like an old Anaheim-developed Guncannon, but not quite. It was battered and had a large slash on its left side. One similar to what a Zaku's heat hawk would do.

Ash noticed it too. "Get some photos of the impact plane." Not too far away, he laid eyes on the pocked remains of an old RTX Guntank. Apparently, the Feddies were using the decommissioned hulk for target practice. Then another, and another: all twisted and maimed. Some even had their cannons cut off. Likely by whatever weapon damaged that Guncannon.

Amid their snooping, Ash's team was caught when a spotlight revealed their position.

Another siren, this one closer, began blaring.

Fire from Vulcan guns in the dark erupted on the Zakus, which replied with their machine guns!

Soon the exchange ceased and a large humanoid figure emerged from the shadows.

_"It's the Feddies' new mobile suit!"_ Pacheco yelled in dread.

* * *

Slender kept his guard at the hatch, unable to help in the firefight below. Unable to participate, he could only watch the fight unfold.

The three Zakus of Ash's team let their machine guns rip open on that Federation suit, a titan with a faded-gold hull, but the storm of bullets did nothing to slow it down.

The enemy had a cannon mounted on its left shoulder, which fired at Ash. It missed, but as Ash began to charge his enemy, the gold suit brandished a gun of some sort—a type Slender had never seen before. Then came a flash of pink light between it and the Zaku. The latter combusted.

Only mega particle weapons, like the guns on a battleship, could one-shot a mobile suit. Had the Federation come that far technologically?

Fleetway and Pacheco attempted to double team the enemy suit. It used that gun on Fleetway's Zaku, point-blank. The shot triggered a chain reaction that destroyed the Zaku's reactor, generating an immense blossom of fire that consumed Pacheco and the enemy prototype and ruptured the bulkhead.

The recon mission was compromised.

* * *

The landing zone of the docking bay elevator was swarming with people. Half the colony had gathered there for the supplies shipped from Earth. With four Sides reduced to clouds of twisted debris and Side 6 neutral since January, the war had hampered trade sharply. Civilians now had to make due with rations in order to get by.

Amid the hustle and bustle of people from shopkeepers to simple parents, a distant explosion was heard. It came from the construction block.

Talk of a flash in that area and a distant siren was common.

The news made Amuro fear the worst. Did Zeon know about Operation V, too? "Fraw, get in the car!" he yelled.

Fraw Bow hurried over, carrying a bag of supplies from the ship. "But Amuro, I still need to get—!"

"Forget about it," he said. "There was an explosion in the construction block. I don't think the colony's going to survive something as big as that." No sooner did he start driving off did he see an immense hole in the bunch's wall, far in the distance. It was as obvious as a scarlet dress in a swamp.

* * *

Ash's squad was gone. Even though he wasn't near his comrade's position, he could still hear the siren, the guns, and the explosion. As far as Gene was concerned, he could make a move against the Federation's installation.

_"Fall back, Gene!"_ Denim ordered. _"This goes beyond 'recon-in-force'," he said. "We can't lose any more men!"_

Gene ignored the order, letting his machine gun loose on the Federation's research complex in the distance. "Commander Char got where he is by finding glory in battle!" he yelled. He charged toward the lightly-defended building and smashed the control tower's window with the butt of his weapon.

* * *

A grim air was about the _White Base_'s bridge. It was obvious what had happened, but they didn't expect the attack to come from inside the bunch.

A sense of dread chilled the old bones of the seasoned Captain Paolo: would this be another minor skirmish or was the war going completely hot again? "Frost, they're understaffed on the ground," he told a nearby lieutenant "Get everyone who isn't needed in the engine room out there!"

"Captain, what about the civilians down there?" Bright asked.

"We will not just sit here and watch them die," said Paolo, grimacing. "Guide them safely aboard this ship. But only as much as circumstances allow."

* * *

Suction from the rupture could be felt in the bunch's residential block. Fortunately, it wasn't strong enough to drag a person out into space.

At the same time, the research center was attempting to transport the secretly-developed mobile suit prototype to the docked battleship as quickly as they could by monorail trolley. However, with the sudden Zeon attack on their operation they sent the loaded trolley away improperly. It was moving too fast down the rail and damaged a portion of it.

Concrete siding covered the road below and the supports crumbled.

It nearly crushed the car Amuro and Fraw were in, but they stopped in time without getting a dent. "The road," Amuro groaned, surveying the mess "somebody on the other side of the barrier got stupid and made that thing derail."

"This is close enough," said Fraw. "I can run home from here. Thanks, Amuro!" She left with her supplies.  
No time had passed before a large flatbed truck came along to get the off-track trolley's still-covered cargo. So too, came a river of civilians. A man in a white normal suit (a man from the garrison, obviously) was standing on the roof of the vehicle, desperately directing the flood of non-combatants to a detour.

Amuro grabbed Haro and darted forward. "I'm trying to reach tech chief Tem Ray," he told the man. "Please let me through!"

The man couldn't quite make out what Amuro was saying for want of the commotion, but the boy's attention was soon grabbed by a nearby argument.

He heard his father's voice nearby. "The Gundam takes priority over refugees," he barked. "Tow the carrier!"

Amuro ran toward the front of the vehicle. His father was there in a normal suit like the traffic director. _At least he can't send me home._

Tem noticed his son, but said nothing.

"Are you saying that a mobile suit is more important than human lives?"

Tem ignored this question. "Secure the lift, too! Load it aboard _White Base_, top priority!"

"DAD!"

The elder Ray finally addressed his son. "Amuro, evacuate to the _White Base_!"

"_White Base_?"

"It's the Federation ship in port, now move it!" Tem turned back to the truck driver. "What's the hold up?"

"The engine won't turn over!" the man at the wheel yelled.

No sooner had Tem gotten his response was a hole blasted in the barrier between the construction and residential blocks. A green Zaku with a machine gun emerged though it.

The garrison had already positioned Armadillo anti-mobile suit tanks and Scorpion and Ballista missile buggies in the area, but they did little to stop the invading suit.

Amuro took cover as the crossfire was unleashed.

When he got a look once the salvoes had settled, civilian corpses, some more intact than others, were scattered all around. The Federation vehicles were scrapped and the Zaku was still up and about, now firing its massive weapon at an unseen enemy the distance. 140mm shells rained down from the giant.

"AMURO! ARE YOU OKAY!?" It was Fraw Bow, running from a ridge crowded with refugees, struggling to flee the battle. The overrun hill erupted in fire as soon as Amuro could see her. Fortunately, she wasn't killed, but the shock of the blast sent her rolling in the dirt.

Amuro hurried up to the girl, now balled up in a fetal position to take cover. She was trembling in fear, but she was alright.

The people on the hill weren't so lucky. Whether it was intentionally done by the Zaku or a misfire by the garrison, neither of them could say. Fraw, however, was devastated by the fact that her mother and uncle were claimed by the blast. She buried her face in her mother's body, sobbing like a baby.

The boy felt bad for his friend, but the Zaku was still on his mind. "Fraw," he told her "if you don't start running, they'll get you, too." She didn't seem to hear him. He leaned closer and raised his voice "You have to get out of here!"

Fraw, her mind still rocked by what had just happened, wailed hysterically. She didn't want to leave her relatives.

Amuro had no choice but to slap her, it was the only way he could think of to snap her out of it. "Stop it!" he said, firmly. For all the times Fraw had tried to play his parent in the past, now it was his turn. "Pull yourself together! You're stronger than this! You gotta run to the port! I'll see you when I get there."

Fraw scraped all the nerves she could together to keep going. She left slowly at first, but then picked up the pace and started running.

"That's it, run!" Amuro yelled, as tears of his own started to form. _Fraw, I'm so sorry. You can't die here._ He took a look to the side. That trolley's cargo was still on it, but the tarp covering it had been pulled all about, revealing a white-plated mobile suit underneath. He'd seen it before during his snooping, but here it was before him. If there were any doubt about its identity, the plate on the trolley reading "RX-78 Gundam" dispelled it.

Amuro could only take awe in the prototype for so long. The Zaku, _that_ Zaku, was right there. This was the only thing he could think of that could fight it; those buggies weren't cutting it. He was only at the feet of the suit and was looking around. He'd remembered all that time he'd taken studying the specs when he'd had them. There was an access panel on the tip of the right foot that would unlock the cockpit.

Behind the hatch were ten numeric keys for the passcode. Amuro looked over his shoulder: that Zaku was still busy. "Zero… Seven… Two… Three… Two… Zero… Zero… One…"

With those eight digits, something in the suit's torso rose. It was the hatch.

Gingerly, Amuro scaled the suit, trying to get to that cockpit.

* * *

Char was gazing out at the unfinished bunch in the distance. Slender was sending a transmission from there. The Zaku team had muffed the recon.

"Master Sergeant Denim charged in?" said Dren.

_"That's right, sir,"_ Slender confirmed. _"When Sergeant Ash's group encountered a hostile, Denim and Gene moved in to back them up. The colony's running out of air from an explosion! Because of the situation, I followed the Master Sergeant's order and withdrew from the construction block."_

"Good job, Corporal Slender," said Char. "So, the Federation forces do have a new mobile suit?! That'll do for now, return to the ship. You'll be debriefed later."

_"Yes, sir."_

The transmission ended.

"Color me surprised," Dren said, thoroughly unimpressed. "I'd thought Denim could handle the rookies."

Char, too, wasn't happy that this operation didn't go smoothly either. "Dren," he ordered "detach the ship and close the distance with the colony."

"To arms, sir?"

"The Feddies have violated the Treaty, we're going to make sure they pay for it."

* * *

It felt like forever, but Amuro finally got to the hatch in the Gundam's torso. He got inside like he wanted, but the process was far from ideal: he'd slipped.

No sooner had he literally fallen into the cockpit, it closed.

A second later, the image of a Zaku with a machine gun could be seen on a monitor before him.

His heart sunk, but his better judgment got a hold of him. _Don't panic. Think. You've seen the schematics. You need to find the activation switch.  
_

* * *

Gene attempted to open fire on the Federation mobile suit still at rest on its trolley, but only let out a handful of bullets before yellow eyes flickered on in its sphinxlike head.

_"Gene," _Denim called over the radio _"Don't destroy them if they're just parts. We can capture them."_

"Master Sarge," the loose cannon said, now in a bit of a shock. "Those aren't just parts! Something's in there! It-It's moving!"

_"Damn! It's operational? Gene, fall back before it can get a fix on us!"_

The suit was now sitting up. From two tubes on the side of the suit's head, fire-linked rounds from built-in Vulcans fired at his Zaku, but most missed.

Soon, the suit was moving again. It rose to its feet, breaking its support cables and shedding the tarp. All white, save for the torso and parts of the head, it towered over the neighborhood like a god.

* * *

**A little trivia:  
1.** In the Origin manga, upon which this work is derived, six Zakus invade Side 7 rather than the three (Denim, Slender, and Gene) in the original anime and movies. Two of the extra pilots were called Ash and Pacheco. I never found anything on the sixth. Thus, I named him Fleetway, after the publishers of a Europe-exclusive Sonic comic series. Sonic the Hedgehog, as you know, is the second party of this crossover. However, it crosses over with the pre-lawsuit Archie continuity instead.

**2\. **The code Amuro uses to open the cockpit is the numeric value of July 23, 2001, the premiere of the original 1979 series' abortive run on Toonami.


	5. Bunnie D'Coolette: Rabbot Again

**FREEDOM HQ, KNOTHOLE VILLAGE**

**October 1, 3234**

**1141 Hours**

"Sonic the Hedgehog, reporting in, your highness!"

"Rotor, too!"

"Glad you're back, boys, but who's your friend?"

Bunnie Rabbot* opened her eyes, feeling very much like she was hit by a car. But when she came to her senses, she bounced out of the hands of the walrus holding her and toward the enthroned chipmunk ahead. "Y'all can call me 'Bunnie'!" she said "You can call me 'Buns'! Just don't call me 'Bugs' or late when it's time to defeat Robotnik!" She noticed the blue hedgehog nearby. He was part of the duo that saved her when those two SWATBots were about to roboticize her with a Bot-on-the-Spot. She poked his nose with her right hand. "You're fast and cute. What's your name, sugah?"

"Er, Sonic. This is Freedom HQ and may I introduce—!"

"Princess Sally Acorn?" Bunnie interrupted, totally shocked. "Oh my stars! You're my hero!" She got down low. "I mean know disrespect! It's always been my dream to be your hairdresser!

"And I need one," said Sally. "But first, join us Freedom Fighters."

"_Oui_! We need all we can get!"

Bunnie's attention shifted to the uniformed coyote rushing into the cavern they were in. He was very panicked, but adorable as far as she was concerned. "My, oh my! Who is that li'l ol' soldier boy?"

"That's Antoine D'Coolette," said Sonic "or as I call him 'the head windbag'!"

"Highness!" Antoine shrieked, his arms stretched out as far as they could go "It was zis big! No, bigger! Really!"

"You interrupted us to talk about your fishing trip?" Sailly asked, annoyed.

No sooner had Antoine had his exchange with Sally did a great rumble shake the HQ. It only seemed to get stronger. "Do you feel that?" Rotor asked.

"Zat's what I'm trying to tell you all!" said Antoine "Robotnik built a zhigantic Burrobot zat's tearing up ze Great Forest above us!"

Sonic smiled from ear to ear as he made for the large spring to the surface. "Stand back, everyone! This is a job for Sonic the Hedgehog!"

"And his new botbustin' partner: Rabbot!" Bunnie added. The whole thing was familiar to her, but somewhere in the back of her mind, something was off.

* * *

Sonic and Bunnie popped their heads out of the hidden hatch in a stump. The hedgehog was ready to bust up Robotnik's new toy right now, but Bunnie had to drag him back into the chute.

The house-sized badnik rolled right over the stump, flattening it.

Sonic let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Bunnie! I was almost a Sonic pancake!"

"Don't mention it!" Bunnie told him. "Although I may use you for a reference when I apply to hairdressing school! Meanwhile, let's dispense with this ill-mannered machine! Y'all got a plan?"

"I sure do, Bunnie… watch my smoke." Sonic dashed ahead, leaving Bunnie on the hilltop. He was kicking up a lot of dust and smoke as he got closer to the kaiju-sized badnik. As Sonic began to run around in a circle, the cloud left in his wake was collected into a growing whirlwind. "I'm going to play a game of "Twister" with him! I'll provide the tornado!"

"Gracious me! Sonic's quite a hero!" Bunnie exclaimed. "But I could tell Princess Sally has designs on the Hedgehog!"

Soon, the machine was making a turn and fired off a beam at the hedgehog. Robotnik seemed to have foreseen what he was going to try.

He was down in the dirt, stunned.

Bunnie had to step in before it crushed Sonic under its large treads. Starting with a great leap, she darted forward. She was going to flip the badnik over with her robot arm before it killed him.

That was when the big horror hit her: Sonic and Rotor had gotten there sooner. She'd never touched that Bot-on-the-Spot. Her left arm and her legs were still organic!

The shock of the revelation left her open for a stun blast of her own. Now she was as helpless as Sonic.

She could do little now except watch as the colossal Burrobot rolled inexorably closer to her and Sonic. It a few seconds, they'd be dead.

* * *

"NO!"

Bunnie thrusted upward. The Great Forest had dissolved into a hospital room wrapped in shadow. No Sonic. No giant badnik. Just a rabbit girl sweating bullets.

She turned on the lights with the switch behind her bed. It was all just a nightmare.

No, a "what if"?

She was thinking back to when she first joined the Freedom Fighters, less than three years ago. The way things were then and were now were like night and day. Things seemed goofier and more fun back during the bulk of their operations against Dr. Robotnik. At least until that point Sally nearly died and Sonic was framed for murder and treason.

All a distant memory.

Even her marriage to Antoine was ancient history right now. What came later, though, him almost getting killed during a failed attempt on the deposed King Elias' life, was still a vivid image. The last time she'd ever seen him, he was comatose and on life support back at Tommy Turtle.

It was all because of Naugus. He'd restored her limbs to her. In doing so, she had become vastly less powerful.

It was curse posing as a blessing.

Had she still had her limbs at the time of the robot attack, she could have saved Antoine right there.

That was why she left New Mobotropolis. She was ready to fix this.

Unfortunately, the only person she knew of who could help was her Uncle Beauregard, Grand Master of the Great Desert Chapter of the Dark Egg Legion. The enemy.

She threw back the covers on her bed. Apart from her underwear, she had nothing on, but she could see why. He right arm was the only limb still attached to her torso by bones and nerves. Her restored legs and left arm, though, had been amputated. Substitutes of alloy and circuitry had replaced them.

It was what she wanted, but not the way she wanted it.

Would the now-Legionized Bunnie even be able to see her husband again? Her friends?

Beauregard was a good man, but he served the Eggman Empire. Not by choice, though. After their mistreatment by the rogue Sand Blasters, he turned to Eggman for help.

If she were to attempt to go back to Acorn of her own volition, the bombs within her could be detonated with the press of a button.

Worse still would be if the detonation order came from higher up on the ladder and the whole chapter would explode simultaneously.

And it would be all her fault.

* * *

*Pronounced "Rab-BOW" when completely organic.

**Forgive the brevity of this entry, I just needed a little breathing room from Amuro. If you notice, the nightmare is pretty much a retelling of her introduction in _Sonic the Hedgehog #3_, up until she fights back against the Burrobot. You can probably YouTube the story if you want to see what really happened.**


	6. Amuro Ray: The Gundam Stands Its Ground

**Side 7, Bunch 1**

**September 18, UC 0079**

**0840 Hours  
**

* * *

Tem Ray and a few other personnel had taken cover beneath the large truck as the exchange of fire had taken place. Now a totally new development had taken place: the Gundam was standing up.

Unexpected, and far from ideal. It just marched toward the Zaku, still firing off its Vulcans.

The pilot, whoever it was, was complete idiot. What was he thinking?

Finally, the Vulcans stopped firing. He wasted all his ammo.

The Zaku zeroed in on the suit, machine gun ready to rip again.

But then, the Gundam extended its arm and swatted the machine gun out of the Zaku's hand. Then it grabbed the suit's snout-like cooling vent, located on its face, and tore it off like a chunk of bread. The Paris-and-Russian-colored giant went down.

_Not ideal,_ Tem thought, _but it works._

In the large hole the floored Zaku originally had emerged from, another could be seen. It seemed to be more focused on spectating than helping fight.

The suit got back up and was attempting to make a run for where his partner was.

The beam saber hilt on the left side of the Gundam's reactor popped out and was wielded. Soon, a large pink blade of energy ignited and with it, the prototype chased down the fleeing Zaku.

The Gundam caught up with it and let loose a great slash into the backside of the suit.

Tem was horrified by the sight. _You dumbass! That's the reactor!_

The troublesome Zaku went down for good. In his wake came an immense, brilliant explosion.

Next thing Tem knew, the ground around him was crumbling away. He and all the surviving research staff were all sucked out into space.

* * *

Amuro felt stupid for aiming for the Zaku's back: he'd forgotten what was there.

The destruction of the enemy suit created another rupture in the bulkhead and he would have gotten dragged out into the vacuum had he not hastily taken cover.

His moment of (relative) ease came to an abrupt end when the Gundam's camera picked up another Zaku charging toward him with a heat hawk! He's only managed to right himself before lunging forward to tackle the oncoming suit.

The second Zaku had dropped the heat hawk thanks to the tackle, but kept trying to fight him unarmed. He got some good hits in.

Amuro frantically tried to come up with a course of action. The bunch wouldn't take a third explosion. If this one blew up, too, whatever air was left in the colony would be gone.

Maybe if he aimed for the cockpit?

He had to be as accurate as possible.

The Zaku came running again and attempted a haymaker.

Amuro turned the beam saber on again.

The abdomen of the mobile suit came down on the tip of the saber's blade and kept falling until it was at the hilt.

The Zaku shorted and crackled. But it didn't explode.

The blade retracted and the suit fell to the ground, no longer moving.

Amuro slumped in the seat and let out a big sigh. _That was too close.  
_

* * *

"We're clear of the berth," Char announced. "Turn the ship +30!"

The _Falmel_ steadily reoriented her bow until it faced the colony ahead.

"Docking bay at twelve o'clock, Commander!" the tech announced.

Char acknowledged. "Prepare to engage!"

As he said this, an ensign left his station and approached Dren. "Lieutenant, Denim's Zaku has been sunk," he told him. "IFF signal confirmed."

"Him, too?" he asked. "What about Slender?"

"He's escaped and is returning to the ship."

"To think I lost five Zakus on one mission," Char said, grimly. "I'm in hot water with Vice Admiral Dozle." He looked ahead as two missiles sped away from their tubes toward the large bunch in the distance. "It's not easy to admit to the folly of one's youth."

Seconds ticked by, but fiery blooms appeared on the hull of the colony.

"Engine output increased!" the tech announced. "Mega Particle Cannons on standby!"

"Target the space gate," Dren ordered "but don't hit the docking bay!"

* * *

The docking bay rocked and everyone on the _White Base _felt the shudder. It didn't take an astrophysicist to identify the cause.

"So much for the Treaty," Paolo remarked. "We have no choice but to engage." He stood up. "I'll go. Ready a gunboat, Perkins."

"But Captain, that's suicide!" the officer protested. "A gunboat against a Musai?"

Paolo stood firm. "We need to buy some time until the Gundam gets aboard!" He turned to young Bright, nearby. "Lieutenant J. G. Bright, take the bridge until I return."

Bright couldn't believe what he was hearing. He'd never been to space before, let alone run a ship, even temporarily.

"Your grades in command training were outstanding," the captain told him.

Bright still couldn't form a full sentence from the sudden order, even though he attempted to object.

* * *

"Don't worry," said Paolo, entering the elevator. "It's extremely unlikely that this ship's going to leave port under your command."

The refugees swarmed the docking bay elevator like a mass of a thousand rats. A chain of Federation officers formed a human barrier to keep the panicking crowd back in the terminal.

Fraw Bow had volunteered to assist in loading the trolleys to the docking bay. Katz, Letz, and Kikka, the three children she'd often babysat were among the survivors, but the third child in question was devastated by separation from her mother. "We'll find everyone's mommies soon, okay?" she said, trying to ease the little girl's mind.

Soon, the trolley was off, loaded with nearly forty people of varying ages.

Then came a young woman's voice from near the top of a nearby ladder.

"Hey, Miss! Could you give us a hand in the sick bay? You can at least wrap bandages, right?"

* * *

A Star Locust gunboat, emerged from the stern hangar of the _White Base. _

Captain Paolo had taken the gun turret, ready to bang up that Musai or die trying. "We'll hit them once and pull back," he told the pilot. "We only need to draw their attention."

The tiny craft approached the much larger cruiser, full throttle.

The Zeon vessel sent an appropriate hail: missiles.

Fortunately for Paolo, the gunboat was nimble enough to evade the missiles and reply with some of its own. However, their arc was too shallow to have been able to damage the Musai's keel.

The next option was to hit the bridge with everything they had left. This time, they managed to hit the ship, but wound up getting winged by the enemy anti-air turrets.

The pilot of the boat, a corpulent sergeant looked over his shoulder. "Shit! They hit the port engine," he snarled.

Paolo chuckled, even as the console around him sparked and smoked. "My first command was a torpedo gunboat like this one," he said. "Only back then, they didn't handle nearly so well!"

What the sergeant saw next nearly made him freeze.

Paolo coughed up a bit of blood and it had smeared on his normal suit's visor. "Again," he said, a bit raspy. "This boat can still fly. _White Base_ needs more time."

"No good," the sergeant told him. "We need to get back to the ship. Please hold on, sir!"

The Star Locust haphazardly got back to its hangar. Orderlies and a fire crew, most clad in normal suits, gathered to attend to the stricken craft and captain.

Paolo was removed from the gunboat and onto a stretcher. He faced the young pilot. He defied his orders, but was grateful all the same. "Thank you, Sergeant. What was your name again?"

"Ryu Jose, sir!"

"Take care of the rest: the refugees and the Gundam."

* * *

A large ambulance entered the residential sector of Green Noa. The suction from the collapsed bulkheads hadn't stopped, but they'd slowed down enough that it was safe to drive through. Its mission: find all survivors who haven't evacuated.

Fraw Bow and that young woman she'd run into earlier were in it, running the loudspeaker and driving the thing respectively. She was a little older than her; deep blue eyes, shoulder-length lemonade hair. A bit stoic, perhaps, but responsive.

Thus far, they'd managed about fourteen people, before they entered a new neighborhood.

Fraw's neighborhood.

They even passed her now-abandoned house. The memories of her running off to see Amuro or the kids only brought her pain.

Soon, she saw a green ball bounce down a debris-covered hill and across the street, hitting a cement wall.

It couldn't be. Could it?

"Stop the ambulance!" she told the driver.

She hit the breaks and Fraw Bow jumped out.

When she was able to get a good look at it, there was no doubt: it was Haro! Last time she'd seen him, he was with Amuro. Amid all the fighting, they must have gotten separated!

She happily nuzzled the little robot.

"So it's not just a toy, but your friend?" the young woman asked.

"A very good friend," Fraw replied.

The tender reunion was cut short by a gruff voice at the side of the road ahead calling on them to come over.

Fraw climbed back aboard and the ambulance pulled up.

The man was a rough looking person in a leather jacket. "My truck's stuck down there!" he told them. He motioned down the side of the hill, where his buddy was trying to move a ton of sacks and suitcases out of the dead vehicle. "My battery quit. We're in a bit of a rough patch. Would you mind giving us a lift, babe? And our stuff?"

"But-But there's no room all that!" Fraw stuttered. "We're only supposed to pick up injured or trapped people!"

"Oh really?" said the thug, taking her collar. "Here's an idea: you let us take your ride!"

"That's enough!" The woman was outside of the ambulance, brandishing a handgun. "We don't have any room for your stuff," she said, firmly. "Now get your hands off of her immediately."

No sooner did he comply did she fire three bullets into the dirt at his feet. He backed into his partner and they both tumbled down the hill.

"Let's keep moving," she said, barrel smoldering. "Get in."

They kept the search going. As things stood now, those two ruffians would have been done much better left behind with their junk and the dwindling oxygen.

That was how the blonde felt about the whole thing.

By the time the ambulance got to the terminal, they'd recovered twenty refugees, even.

There was a boy there, just loitering around. He rolled his eyes when he saw Fraw Bow unload the ambulance of its human cargo. He didn't even lift a finger, just ran his mouth: "You gettin' in or not?" "C'mon, move it!" "Does the gimp need a lift or what?"

Finally, the quiet driver rushed over to the boy and smacked him across the cheek. "You call yourself a man!? You coward!"

Fraw took notice of the boy: Kai Shiden. The school bad boy and amateur racer.

The young man growled. "The hell's your problem, lady?"

"A smart mouth like that in a situation like this is my problem! I won't take it!" She stormed off.

Fraw approached Kai, still nursing his cheek. "Who is that?"

"That's Sayla," he told her, embittered. "New girl, joined the volunteer med team."

Fraw said nothing. Kai kept complaining as that girl helped support an old woman onto the trolley ahead.

* * *

This is Sayla Mass:

The youngest child of Don Teabolo Mass of Andalusia, Spain, she and her brother Edouard had lived on Earth in a castle that had been family property for ages. Under circumstances she refuses to disclose, she and her family left Earth for Side 5. It was there, that the Mass family fell in with the Aznables of the Texas colony.

They had a son, too, Char. He looked exactly like Edouard, but his eyes were brown and not blue.

A few years ago, both men enrolled at a Zeon military academy.

Edouard never made it. The space liner to Zeon exploded out of port. Whether it was an accident or an act of terrorism, Sayla didn't know.

She would never really be the same afterward.

Texas had sustained extensive damage during Loum back in January and had to leave.

Up until now, she had been studying her favorite pastime, medicine, on Side 7.

* * *

Paolo had been returned to the bridge and was left on the stretcher. Like he'd promised Bright earlier, the ship wasn't going to leave under the young lieutenant's command. However, the situation wasn't as he wanted it, but his mind was put at ease when he'd learned that the Gundam had reached the elevator on its own. He turned his head to the right, where Bright was standing. "Bright," he said "who's assigned to the Gundam?"

"Lieutenant J. G. William Kemp, sir."

"Contact him," Paolo told him. After sinking two Zakus on his own and getting the prototype to the ship safely, he needed to be commended.

Bright moved over to the communications panel to reach the Gundam and placed the transmission on the main monitor. He was bewildered when he saw that the person in the cockpit wasn't lieutenant Kemp! "Captain, there's a kid flying the Gundam!"

_"I'm not a kid,"_ said the pilot. _"I'm fifteen years old. My name's Amuro Ray!"_

_That face! I remember now,_ Bright thought, _that's chief engineer Ray's boy. _"Where's Willie Kemp? What are you doing in there?

_"I don't know anything about the designated pilot," _said Amuro _"but I've been operating it and took out two Zakus."_

The bridge officers fell silent. Some teenager managed to work a mobile suit prototype well enough to take down a pair of enemy units flown by actual military personnel? Did Kemp die during the fighting? How did he even know how to pilot it?

Paolo finally spoke up. "Bright," he said, "worry about the details later. Right now, get the Gundam aboard the ship."

"Amuro!"

Bright's attention shifted to the pair of young women leaving the elevator. Volunteer medics, going by the paraphernalia they were carrying. One of them seemed to know the boy.

He was elated to see the girl. _"Fraw Bow! You made it to the ship!"_

"But where are you?" Fraw asked, having no clue where he was transmitting from.

"The mobile suit pilot's another friend of yours?" Sayla asked.

"He's a neighbor of mi—mobile suit pilot!?"

"Alright," Bright told Amuro. "We'll hear you out later! Get that unit into the hangar via the stern deck! Follow the instructions of the crew there!"

_"Yes, sir!"_ the boy complied. _"What's your name?"_

"Lieutenant Junior Grade Bright Noa!"

"Got it."

The transmission ended.

Bright had no idea who the boy was, but he seemed to know what he was doing. He was a step ahead of most of the others around because of that.

"Mr. Bright!" an officer at the helm called. "There's something wrong with the gyro. I can't control it?"

"What do you mean you can't? Aren't you the helmsman?"

"No, sir," he replied. "I'm just auxiliary staff. The regular helmsman was killed by the explosion at the dock and this ship's a new model. The sims weren't—!"

"Enough!" Bright was annoyed. Since those Zakus showed up, things just seemed to sour for the ship.

But another voice joined in, another young lady. "Lieutenant," she said "I do have a license to helm a space cruiser. Could I be of help?"

Bright looked at her. "Who are you?"

"My name is Mirai Yashima, sir," she said.

"Ah, the Yashima family," said Paolo.

"It's been a while, Captain Paolo," said Mirai. "My father was looking forward to seeing you, but on his way to a shelter…" she trailed off, the thought had her blinking back a tear.

She didn't need to finish. Paolo could easily tell what had happened. "Lieutenant Bright," the captain said "Miss Yashima may be young, but it's not as though our forces haven't been full of exceptional female officers. Let her take the helm."

Mirai nodded. "Thank you for your confidence, captain. I'll do my best to live up to it."

Paolo was pleased that she accepted the offer. "Then we fight to avenge your father."

Further south. Bright rubbed his temple. This was the second civilian roped into the situation in less than three minutes.

* * *

The _White Base_ rotated so she faced the space gate. It was finally time for the ship to leave. Loaded with its precious prototype and hundreds of civilian refugees.

"Oscar," said Bright "what's it like in the colony now?"

Two operators, both surviving original crewmen, sat at opposite-facing panels on the platform behind the captain's chair: Marker Clan and Oscar Dublin.

"Oxygen concentration has fallen below 20%," Oscar responded. "It's a lost cause."

"Is the bay still functional?"

"Yes, sir. We are cleared to launch."

"And what about that Musai?"

"It's fourteen degrees past three o'clock, sir," Marker replied. "20 clicks away."

"Remember that our helmsman's new at this," Bright told him. "Be sure to supply directions in a timely manner."

Dead ahead, a trail of lights appeared to guide the _White Base_ out of the bunch. Open space, and that Zeon cruiser, was waiting for them.

She slowly made her way forward.

Bright took a deep breath through his nose. _We don't have much of a choice if it's come down to this.  
_

* * *

A mobile suit was like a second skin for Char. Piloting was as natural for him as swimming was to a fish. His customized Command-type Zaku II was standing alongside the surviving mobile suit from the fumbled operation today. It looked exactly like any other Zaku, but it had a single horn and was appropriately painted red.

He drifted toward the cockpit hatch and got in his seat just as a transmission from the bridge reverberated through the hangar: "The 'Trojan Horse' is preparing to exit the space gate."

Char turned on his radio to call the bridge. "Dren, do you copy? Equip my Zaku and Slender's with Type-1 gear and prepare to launch us along the laser line."

_"Yes, sir!" _Dren replied. A split second later, the lieutenant gathered what his CO was saying. _"You're going to deploy, Commander?"_

"Yes," Char replied "and I imagine they will as well. Otherwise, it's hardly going to be a fight. I've given them ample time to get ready and I'm not exactly a patient man."

The mono-eye camera of the mobile suit lit up with an electric pink glow.

* * *

Amuro had gotten a bit of a break from piloting the Gundam, but had to remain in the hangar of the _White Base_ for a bit. He was on standby in light of an enemy warship in the area. It could open fire again.

After spending so much time studying the notes of his father's, it blew Amuro's mind to actually be around the Gundam itself.

At this moment, the hangar crew was doing mere diagnostics with the suit.

The head of the maintenance ops, Omur Fang, gave the boy a quick warning: the Vulcans were burnt out and unusable right now and that the shoulder magnum (a fixed, retractable turret on the Gundam's right shoulder) only had a small amount of ammo and could only be used conservatively. "We're going to give you a beam rifle to use," he told Amuro "got any questions?"

"I don't," Amuro replied as he sat down in the seat.

"One more thing," said Omur "the G-force gets pretty rough on the catapult, so tuck your chin in and have the Gundam crouch down before launching. It'll be like a ski jump!"

The seat retracted into the mobile suit. Once the systems booted up again, Amuro found himself trying to figure out how to put on the seatbelt. It had two shoulder straps!

Now he had to wait on the call to go to the catapult._ Here we go again._

_ Boo-Boo-Boop! _The bridge was calling him again. The image of Bright holding a wired phone appeared on his console. _"Gundam pilot Amuro! Come in! Are you on standby?"_

"Yes, sir! I'm strapped in!"

_"You'll be launched thirty seconds after we clear the bay. Stay within a ten-kilometer radius and defend the ship! With the ship's current combat capabilities, we won't last long against that Musai out there. Understand?"_

"Alright, I got it," Amuro said, feeling a bit annoyed.

_"What's with that attitude?"_ Bright asked, a bit flabbergasted. _"This is war, not some video game! One of your friends is on this ship!"_

This was followed by a muffled voice talking to Bright.

The screen switched to a different camera a moment later. It had that blonde girl Fraw was with earlier in front of it. Bright was further in the back. _"You got a rundown on your equipment, right?"_

"I did."

_"The beam rifle's a very powerful weapon, but it only has so much energy. Be careful not to waste it."_

"I know, the maintenance officer told me just now."

* * *

Every other eye on the bridge faced ahead as a white mobile suit hurtled out of the ship and into the vacuum. The two techs above Bright's station, were too busy being the vessel's senses and they were doing their job competently. "Mr. Bright, heat source detected!" Oscar announced. "Missiles from the Musai!"

"Mirai, evasive action!" Bright ordered. "Twenty degrees left, eight down!"

Mirai turned the wheel as quickly as she could, but was proving to be too slow for this sort of situation. It was no good!

"_I copied that,"_ said Amuro. _"I could shoot down the missiles, Mr. Bright. Let me try."_

Bright gazed ahead. For a moment, there was nothing going on it, it seemed. Then there was a pink flash and a cloud of fire in the distance.

A few seconds later, another. This time, the explosion was closer and the ship felt the shock.

"He took out both missiles!" Marker cheered.

That crisis had abated, but there was no time to catch a breath yet. "Mr. Bright," Oscar announced, "two more objects are approaching!"

"More missiles?" asked Bright.

"No, sir," the tech said. "These are bigger. They seem to be mobile suits, but one's approaching three times normal speed."

Paolo's eyes lit up when he heard this. "It's… Char!" he grunted.

Bright approached the stretcher. "Captain, did you say something?"

The captain was in excruciating pain, but he knew what was happening. "It's the Red Comet!" he said "During the Battle of Loum, he sank five ships of ours on his own! We need to get out of here!"

* * *

A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR: I hope that this chapter makes up for the brevity of Bunnie's introduction last time. It's going to be a Sonic chapter again next time and we'll go from there. We'll at last be able to part with ASO fairly soon.


	7. Team Fighters: Against the Clock

**Skies over "Northamer"**

**September 18, UC 0079**

**1211 Hours, EST**

* * *

The longer the Tornado flew, the more differences in geography Sonic saw. It wasn't just differences in land, they came across cities that they'd hadn't seen before either. Yet the home beacon was still responding. New Mobotropolis was still there.

Just recently Silver had asked Tails what that bio-analyzer they'd stolen from Eggman does.

"The bio-analyzer scans someone's genetic and physical make-up before roboticizing them," Tails explained. "It should still have the data from when Sally was roboticized, so if we can get her back to the lab, I should be able to use it to change her back."

"'Should'?" Silver said, worried.

"It will work," said Tails. "Trust me."

"We'll have to take the whole thing apart afterwards, though," Sonic noted, staring at the static Mecha Sally. "Can't risk someone else using it to enslave people again. Speaking of which, since when do you know so much about roboticizers anyway?"

"The brain trust did a lot of research when you were in space," said the fox, "we didn't know what the Bem had done, and we couldn't allow Eggman to find a way to roboticize people again. Looks like it's finally paying off!

Straight ahead, a city in the mountains enclosed by a ring of stone and foliage. They were home.

Little did they know; two bogeys were trailing them.

* * *

The command center of the Death Egg II. The built-in camera on the Gizoid zoomed in on the biplane far ahead.

Eggman was still boiling over Team Fighters' successful infiltration. "How dare those insolent vermin!" he snarled. "This was supposed to be my ultimate victory, and they've made a fool out of me yet again! If only I could still use my roboticizer."

"Cheer up, Cap'n Eggman," said Cubot (now talking like a pirate). "The Death Egg be nigh-on at full power, so we can get back at those landlubbers soon enough!"

"That's right, boss," Cubot concurred, "and legionization has proven to be—!"

Eggman slammed his palms down on the console. "Enough!" he shouted. "Receiving pity from you two is an even greater insult!" The doctor sighed and his voice was lowered to indoors-level. "But the limitations have opened my mind somewhat. As Mecha Sally, the Dark Legion, and (as much as it pains me to say it) even you two have shown, free will and emotion seem to be effective tools for my army. Which is precisely why my newest Metal Sonic model has a specially-designed power gem core: to allow it to think and adapt to any given situation!"

"Sir," said a worried Orbot, "is it wise to grant such abilities to Metal Sonic? What if he forms a personality of his own and rebels?"

"Bah! Metal Sonic has always had algorithms to simulate thought. But I've made sure this core will only amplify his emotions as I see fit and with combined with the battle data downloaded onto that power gem, he'll be unstoppable! Just think, a machine that can feel hate and enjoy the suffering of others—it's the perfect upgrade for him!"

* * *

The Tornado descended for a landing. Silver was the first one to jump off, but was immediately spotted by Cream.

"Welcome back, mister… who are you?" Her greeting had backfired.

"Uh, Hello. My name's Silver." _So much for not drawing attention to myself…_

Heavy and Bomb were there to greet them as well.

"Sorry," said Sonic, "but we're on a timetable here. How are Uncle Chuck and Rote coming on that roboticizer?"

"They're putting the finishing touches on it as we speak," Heavy reported. "As soon as we deliver the part that you stole from the doctor, it should only be a matter of minutes before—!"

The robot was interrupted when the loud cry of a plasma shot nailed Silver. He was okay, but the fact that Metal Sonic and that copper robot had followed them spoiled the mood.

Sonic's blood went cold. It was the self-destruction of an earlier model that had landed Antoine in intensive care. Holding back was not in the cards. "Team Freedom, get everyone out of here!"

Sonic went one-on-one with the robotic lookalike while Amy and Tails double teamed the other robot.

Yet in the midst of the slugfest, the psychic hold Silver had on the roboticized princess was loosened by Metal Sonic's shot. T-Pup, unfortunately, was too close to that unit when it was lost. The small robodog was pushed away by a powerful forcefield when she booted back up.

Mecha Sally was online again.

Sonic landed a homing attack on Metal Sonic, knocking him away. But the was wide open for Mecha Sally to ram him with an elbow. _Shit! Not now!_ "Amy, I can handle Sal! Just buy Tails enough time to get to the lab! I'll bring her there as soon as I can!"

No sooner had Sonic said this did Amy see Metal Sonic rocketing toward her. "You heard Sonic," she told Tails, "I'll hold them off, so you get going!" She looked back at the incoming Sonic robot and tightened her grip on her weapon. "Sonic told me you could take a hit. But let's see how you do against my Piko Piko Hammer!"

With one big smack, Metal Sonic was knocked up in the air.

But then, that weird robot showed up and touched the head of Amy's hammer. "Piko Piko Hammer, copy."

Sonic had stomped Mecha Sally's face into the dirt when he saw the robot that had given him such a hard time on the Death Egg earlier. After the pounding he'd gotten, he was not going to let Amy get the same!

"Going somewhere, dear?" In Sonic's rush to get to Amy's aid, Mecha Sally was able to get up, take him by the wrist, spin him around a few times, and throw him back-first on the ground.

At Amy's end, it was hammer against hammer. Even though the robot had copied it a second ago, it was already using it as well as her. But in spite of that fact, the robot's focus was on her, meaning Sonic and Tails would have it a little easier getting Sally deroboticized.

But what about Metal Sonic? Amid the fight, a pillar of fire erupted in front of the robot in question's flight path. As the corona dissipated, a skunk could be standing in its center. "Sorry about that, er, bloke. But I won't let some robot tear up my—uh, my master's city!"

* * *

The chase between Mecha Sally and Sonic took them all across the city, exchanging shots and blows in the process.

"You're not getting away this time, Sal!" Sonic yelled. "I'm going to change you back if it's the last thing I do!" He attempted a homing attack, but Mecha Sally raised a particle shield to block him.

"Well said, Sonic," Mecha Sally said. "It will be the last thing you do."

"Not if I—GUYS, LOOK OUT!" The chase had brought them to a shelter, where Cream was leading a few other kids.

Mecha Sally was heading straight for them.

Sonic ran faster than he'd ever tried before and delivered a strong left uppercut to the robot chipmunk. "Get out of here, Cream! NOW!"

Mecha Sally went on the ground and Cream fluttered away.

Sonic had hurt his hand punching her like that, but the other option would have been letting her burn a hole through Cream's face.

The robotic princess got back up. "How strange," she said, "you don't seem to be hesitating in engaging this unit presently."

"That's not it!" Sonic shot back. "Fighting you makes me sick, but I swore to save you and all costs, and that includes getting a little rough! I won't fail you this time!"

"'Fail me'?" Mecha Sally said, coldly. "You mean like when you attacked Knothole Village? Or fell for a plot to have me killed? Or could it be that you would have forsaken me for a fight with Silver Sonic?"

Sonic had no time to respond to these accusations. She forcefully kicked him in the guts and finned him to a wall with his foot.

* * *

A live hologram of the roboticized Sally beating the tar out of Sonic was the centerpiece of the round conference table in the Secret Freedom Fighters' hidden bunker below New Mobotroolis. Wolf twins Lyco and Leeta, Larry Lynx, Nicole, and the modified Metal Sonic Shard watched the projection play out, unable to do anything.

Elias Acorn, the disgraced former king, could hardly bear to watch. "Director, please," he said, on his last nerve, "I can't let my sister destroy the city! I need to go out there and stop her!"

"I told you, that's not possible!" said unit director Harvey Who. "There are witnesses everywhere, not to mention the king's agent."

"How dare you!" said Elias. "You think restoring me to the throne is worth watching my sister commit these atrocities?!"

"Sonic and the others have returned alive, have they not?" said Who. "Agent Ace succeeded in altering the course of history! There is nothing you can do for her!"

Elias squeezed his eyes shut and looked away.

Shard placed a hand on the ex-king's shoulder. "I don't like it either, man," he said. "But he's right. Let the public heroes save the day this time, okay?"

They were a covert ops unit. Not ones for the limelight. Besides, Elias was supposed to have been exiled to Feral Forest anyway.

Showing up in broad daylight was not a good idea.

Sonic would have to go it alone.

* * *

The fight between Amy Rose and the copper robot had reached a stalemate… though they had their hammers locked, her opponent suddenly formed an engine in its belly, one exactly like Metal Sonic's. It revved up and thrusted forward.

Amy stood as firm as she could, but the robot's thrust pushed her back. Her feet never went off the ground though.

Suddenly, she fell backward. She leaned her head forward to find the robot encased in a blue aura, struggling to move. Could it be?

"Hit him! Hit him now!"

Yes! Silver was back in the game and was psychically constricting it. The grey hedgehog's fur was ruffled, but he kept on trucking.

Amy swung her hammer at the robot's belly. It went flying. She chased afterward, leapt high into the air, and brought her weapon down on its head. When she lifted her weapon, the robot's head looked like a stepped-on grape.

"Are you alright?" Silver asked.

"Yeah," Amy said, out of breath. "Haven't had a hammer fight like that since Rosy. Thanks, Silver."

"We should go take care of Metal Sonic, too," said Silver. "I saw Geoffrey over there before, and he probably needs… our help?"

* * *

To the eyes of Amy and Silver, it looked like Geoffrey St. John was fighting Metal Sonic, but it was only his body. The ailing king Ixis Naugus, tormented by his mutating and deteriorating body, had appropriated his student's.

Using his magic staff, Naugus trapped the Sonic robot in a purple maelstrom and followed it up with an ice spell. "I think I'll crystallize you for my personal vanguard," Naugus laughed. "What an excellent vanguard you'll make!" Intense pain suddenly overtook him and he fell to his knees. Before his eyes, Naugus helplessly watched as parts of his own body seemed to emerge from the skunk's he was inside of. _Curse it all! Why isn't this body preventing this?!_

He slumped forward and fell on the ground. Every muscle in Geoffrey's body felt like they weighed a kiloton each.

Meanwhile, Metal Sonic broke free of his icy shell.

"What's Geoffrey doing?!" Amy screamed as she saw him fall. "Metal Sonic's heading towards the lab where Tails and the others are!"

Silver took to the air. "Never mind that, I'm going after him!"

* * *

With Eggman robots running amok, Tails couldn't stay calm as he, Rotor, Jules, and Chuck toiled away to get the roboticizer going. It was impossible to use the bio-analyzer for a global roboticizer for something as small as a single-subject deroboticization, so they had to use a standard model roboticizer.

"My sensors are picking up something approaching rapidly, Chuck," Jules told his brother. "You might want to—!"

The roboticized hedgehog was interrupted as a hold was blown through the wall, Metal Sonic had come.

The robotic Sonic began to charge up a laser blast to destroy the roboticizer, but Silver zapped it into stasis just in the nick of time. But as the blue hue encased the robot, there was an internal explosion within it. A puff of smoke emerged from its engine.

This really wasn't what Silver had in mind. Something like this had occurred before with Enerjak Knuckles in his time, where he let his powers go out of control against the warnings of Mammoth Mogul. There was no time to dwell on that though. Sally _had_ to be saved. "I'm gonna keep Metal Sonic under stasis and find Sonic," he told the crew. "The princess should be with him, too. You guys hurry up and finish that roboticizer!"

* * *

Eggman's brow furrowed. The signal from the Gizoid was gone, it was most likely destroyed; Mecha Sally was still occupied with Sonic; Metal Sonic reports damage, but has attained data on Ixis Magicks.

"Doctor," said Orbot, "do you think they'll disable Mecha Sally again?"

Eggman did not like the look of what was going on one bit. It was looking increasingly likely. "Open a direct channel to Metal Sonic," he ordered from behind folded hands.

If he couldn't have Sally, they wouldn't either.

Mecha Sally was never above playing dirty when it came to trying to kill Sonic. Now she was even throwing rocks, in addition to her normal routine.

Something caught the corner of Sonic's eye as they fought. "Silver! I never thought I'd say this, but you're a sight for sore eyes! Thanks for stopping Metal-me!"

This prompted Mecha Sally to turn her head in that direction and let loose a head-mounted laser. Silver got shot down and dropped his captive robot.

Metal Sonic immediately went back online and took to the air. He then sent a direct message to the robot princess: "MECHA SALLY—ENGAGE SELF-DESTRUCT. PASSWORD: ΣΘMakeSonicSufferΗΟ249." He began his retreat immediately.

* * *

A pink light in Mecha Sally's chest lit up. "Engage self-destruct cycle," she announced. "Detonation in sixty seconds." With a blast of her engines, she was airborne again.

Sonic rushed toward her like a madman and jumped wildly, managing to grab her right forearm. "Stop!" he screamed. "You can't do this!"

"This unit was made to serve Dr. Eggman," the roboticized chipmunk coldly stated. "Your words are useless, but this will hardly be the first time for you. You've stood by and watched your comrades die miserably for years now: all because of your failures!"

Sonic put his foot on the robot's chest in an effort to stabilize himself. Tears began to form in his eyes. "Sally, please!"

Mecha Sally gave no quarter. "Nate Morgan, Tommy Turtle, Sir Connery, and now me. You've already let me die twice. And I assure you, the third time will be the charm. But you may find solace in the fact that I will not perish alone. We will finally be together again as you wanted: in death." Her head-mounted laser was now aimed directly at his forehead. "Goodbye, Sonic the Hedgehog."

Sonic smashed the laser with a headbutt. He put everything into it. She was never going to use that eyesore again.

Then, he smashed every joint on Mecha Sally and her leg thrusters. She wasn't going anywhere.

She was out of commission once more.

Only one thing was left: get her back to normal before the bomb goes off.

At the speed of sound, he sprinted for the lab. She was thrown into the roboticizer like a suitcase full of old clothes, snatched the machine's remote from Tails, and pushed the button. The door to the machine snapped shut.

As he did, a brilliant flash filled the room and everyone had to shield their eyes from it.

The light died down and an avalanche of steam came out of the roboticizer was it reopened.

The only thing on Sonic's mind right now was _please don't tell me the bomb went off._

It didn't. As the last of the vapor wafted out of the cylinder, everyone could see its occupant: a Mobian chipmunk with red hair, blue boots and a matching vest, and crooked goggles. She was slumped against the wall, her coat and hair disheveled, and her eyes shut.

Sonic neared the roboticizer. _Please tell me she's not dead!_ He felt her neck. There was a pulse. He wrapped his arms around her, happiness seething from every follicle on his body. "Sal!"

Sally screamed and shove him aside. She looked around, completely in shock, but soon calmed down. Numerous familiar faces were there. She wasn't on the Death Egg anymore.

Finally, she saw Sonic. She buried her head into the hedgehog and wept profusely.

The nightmare that was Mecha Sally was no more.

* * *

Death Egg II. Tension strangled the air in the command center, but all of that came to a head when Orbot made an announcement.

"Self-destruct sequence on Mecha Sally aborted. She cannot be raised. Metal Sonic reports severe structural damage, primary weapons disabled, 35% output available. Currently en route to the Death Egg."

Eggman growled. "Those annoying fuzzballs! They must have reversed the roboticization process!" _Mecha Sally is gone alongside the Gizoid. I'm running out of options!_

"Cap'n Eggman!" Cubot announced. "The Death Egg is completely refueled. Permission to weigh anchor?"

"Yes," said Eggman. "Set course for New Mobotropolis. When Metal Sonic boards, begin repairs ASAP!"  
"Aye-aye, sir!"

* * *

Notre Dame Base.

"Any word from Orlter, Vines?" Schwieger asked.

"Yes, sir," said the tech, as he printed out an image. "He was able to take a snap of the aircraft in question."

Schwieger received the image. It looked like an old World War I-era biplane, but something like that couldn't be flying as fast as they'd detected. "And the other two bogeys?"

"They were there, but were too small to detect." The systems beeped, a transmission was coming in.

_"Jukon K-58, calling all available airbases and submarines in the East Canada region. Large unidentified object sighted approaching Baffin Island. Position: 71.09, -67.92. It—It looks like a large egg!"  
_

* * *

**A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR: **At this point we finally part ways with ASO's stuff and forge our own route with the old Archie cast. May or may not go back to check up with Amuro, though how I set up the next chapter **could **play into the final decision. Faster, faster, we're about to hit the crossroads!


	8. Dr Eggman: The Death Egg Burns

**Labrador Peninsula, Canada**

**September 18, UC 0079**

**1330 Hours, AST**

* * *

The large egg-shaped battle fortress was trundling towards land.

By this point, Metal Sonic had already returned and was shut down for repairs. Hopefully, he'd be battle ready by the time they got to New Mobotropolis.

He had the coordinates, but the flight path left Dr. Eggman scratching his head.

"Something isn't right," Eggman muttered. "There's been too much water around here. It's as if the land bridge was shattered."

"P'raps the Genesis Wave changed it?" Cubot asked in an Irish brogue.

"That is a plausible explanation," said Orbot.

"What's the status on Silver Knuckles?" Eggman asked.

"Seventy-five percent operational," Orbot reported.

"Better than nothing," he growled. Hopefully, Metal Sonic would be combat ready in time.

PING-PING-PING!

"Doctor, one-way message received," said Cubot.

The transmission played: _"This is Major Otto Vasilevsky of the Zeon Expeditionary Forces, Labrador sector. Identify yourself now, you are ordered to land! You have thirty seconds to comply."_

Zeon? Was this some kind of a trick? A prank by Acorn? There was no country on Mobius called Zeon. "Ignore it," Eggman told the robots, "but keep the autoguns and EggSWAT units on standby."

He was well-founded in his judgment: swarms of airborne blips appeared on his radar just as the thirty seconds elapsed, the majority coming at the Death Egg much faster than the others.

The main screen revealed numerous green aircraft. Eggman's eyes widened behind his sunglasses. _Those… aren't GUN's.  
_

* * *

Schwieger watched on his Gaw's monitor as his squadron of Dopps joined those from the rest of the region.

What was ahead perplexed him. _It looks like a metallic egg with a mustache! _He thought. _It looks ridiculous! Don't tell me the Feddies that! _"Pressler, open a channel to A-2."

A window appeared on the monitor and in it, another Zeon Major on the bridge of another Gaw.

"Vasilevsky," said Schwieger, "are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

_"That the Feddies were late for Easter?" _he remarked. _"The men are saying the thing's hot. One of my Dopps got a nasty hit from one of its AA guns and had to get clear!"_

"Damn! That thing's armed? Send a word out to all friendlies: the Gaws are to fire on the UFO with Mega Particle Cannons."

* * *

Eggman was sweating bullets. Those fighters were all over the Death Egg like ants at a picnic. "All EggSwats to the Egg Hawks!" he ordered into a microphone. "We need to clear out these aircraft! Assign missiles to the Balkiries, too. Those should be able to shoot down those planes in one hit!" He turned to Orbot. "How many are out there?"

"Thirty-six, Dr. Eggman," the robot stated. "The autoguns have hit at least half a dozen of the planes thus far, but they've been able to evade our defenses."

"Swift little devils," Cubot added.

_If only Metal Sonic weren't so banged up,_ Eggman thought. _Silver Knuckles isn't ready yet, but I might have to send him out anyway!_

"Egg Hawks have deployed," Orbot reported, "but the planes are leaving."

"Not on my watch!" Eggman turned back to his mic. "Egg Hawks and Balkiries! Follow those jets and hit them hard!"

Suddenly, the Death Egg shook violently. It started to lurch to the doctor's right.

"Dr. Eggman, those large aircraft in the distance are openin' fire on us!" Cubot said. "The balancing gyro has malfunctioned! We're losing altitude!"

_No!_ Eggman couldn't believe it: the world roboticizer was gone, Mecha Sally was gone, and now they were going down! This new enemy had already succeeded in only a few minutes what Sonic and his friends couldn't do! "Prepare for a crash landing! Every EggSWAT unit must be on standby, there's a good chance we'll be boarded!"

"But Dr. Eggman," Orbot said, concerned, "after the Freedom Fighters' earlier infiltration, the number of EggSWATs may be insufficient for defense!"

"Maybe so, but they aren't getting me without a fight!"

* * *

The metal egg was moving toward the coast, with a column of black smoke trailing behind it.

Schwieger's mega particle bombardment went over better than he had expected.

"Major," the tech announced, "Master Sergeant McGoff reports that the UFO is plummeting! The Imhoff squadron got nailed pretty hard by those bird drones, but those three large aircraft that emerged from the ship have been successfully neutralized."

"Estimated landing position?" Schwieger inquired.

"Just a moment… 45.5, -65.1."

"Good," said Schwieger. "Send a coded message to the commissar. He should be in New York right now, he may find this turn of events _pretty_ interesting!"

* * *

Tommy Turtle Memorial Hospital.

Four figures, a blue hedgehog, an elderly woodchuck, an artificial lynx, and a beloved chipmunk princess sat together in a waiting room. The sky outside was only partially overcast, but the atmosphere inside was markedly more somber.

"Elias abdicated?" Sally said. Astounded, but trying to keep her voice under control.

"Naugus used your roboticization as a pretext that Elias wasn't fit to stay in power," Sonic explained. "The people wanted Naugus to be king after he stopped the Death Egg from firing on the city and he cited some deal he made with your Dad when he was in the Zone of Silence for why he even wanted the crown. He even took advantage of everyone's fears about Nicole after the Iron Dominion infected her and exiled her. She only recently came back to the city."

"And Geoffrey betrayed us?"

"He's Naugus' number one cheerleader now," Sonic told her. "He was about to be tried for treason, but was almost immediately pardoned. When Elias resigned, Eggman tried to kill him. Antoine intervened in the attempt and almost got killed. After that, the Freedom Fighters disbanded and became two separate teams. Knuckles isn't with us anymore, every Echidna on Mobius is gone, and the last we've seen of him was him fighting this walking noise violation called Thrash. All the while, we've been chasing you down."

The anguish on Sally's face! All that time, she was an Eggman weapon and only made things harder on everyone. "I feel so bad now," she said. "I had that roboticizer turned on me so the whole world wouldn't be turned into robots. I didn't have a choice. I didn't mean to complicate things when everything was going so horribly for everyone. Everyone probably hates my guts right."

"Sally," said Nicole, "nobody is going to blame you."

"And if they do," Sonic added, bluntly, "they'll hear from me."

Dr. Quack approached. "Princess," he said, "you can see him now. But be quiet, he's still critical."

The four followed Quack into the intensive care unit. Before long, they were shown a bedridden coyote in a bed: covered in bandages, oxygen hose in his nostrils, IV bag running into his left wrist, and as still as a rock. The beeps of the nearby ECG signified that the patient was still alive.

Sally couldn't bear to look at Antoine like this. Rosie had to comfort her.

"I'm sorry Sal," Sonic said, putting his palm on the chipmunk's shoulder. "I know it's not pretty. Bunnie took what happened to him a lot harder."

"Bunnie?" she turned her head to the hedgehog, eyes still streaming with tears. "Where is Bunnie?"

"She ran off right after Ant landed here," Sonic explained.

"Sonic, we need to find her," said Sally. "With all that's been going on we need every ounce of help we can get!"

"Well, I have a hunch where we can start looking."

* * *

Sundown at Fundy National Park.

This once-serene patch of forestland in New Brunswick now had a new landmark: a large, metallic egg at the edge of a track of fallen trees and broken soil. Its shell now pocked with holes caused by Dopp missiles from its time in the air and bombs from the Gaws that passed over after it crashed.

Magella Attack tanks, VTOLs, and self-propelled artillery continued the bombardment.

A Zaku Tank neutralized the remaining autogun emplacements on the UFO.

Soon, a large Gallop land battleship hovered into the area, a specialized Gallop with a reddish-orange hull as opposed to a standard yellow one. Someone important in the Zeon military was aboard it.

* * *

Once again, the Death Egg had been infiltrated, but now it wasn't by Mobians. Much to Eggman's astonishment, he was fighting humans this time. They definitely weren't GUN and despite them using lower-grade weapons, they were gaining ground in the ship against the remaining EggSWATs.

"Oh ho ho, this isn't good," Cubot whined. "The repair bay's gone."

"What are we going to do, Dr. Eggman?" Orbot asked.

The doctor said nothing. He just watched as the blasted head of Metal Sonic rolled down a corridor, away from the camera. It was destroyed at the perfect opportunity: when it was deactivated for repairs. If it were optimal, things would be as different as night and day. A simple grenade at the right time was its undoing.

The din of gunfire and bursting RPGs echoed throughout the immobile battle station.

Eggman was as trapped as a kinged checkers piece cornered by two opposing kings. The last of his EggSWATs were being decimated—these intruders were finishing the job Sonic had started.

Orbot was really scared by everything going on. "Doctor!"

Eggman was still too shocked to respond to the robot.

BOOM!

About a dozen men in Stahlhelms burst into the command room, assault rifles ready to rip.

The king was jumped.

Silence took hold as Eggman took a stand and put his hands behind his head. _Albert, if I ever see you again, I will throttle you until your eyes pop out!_

Footsteps echoed as they approached the command room. "It's the commissar." They all made a clearing.

A young officer with Byzantium hair entered the room, perhaps two inches taller than Eggman, hands folded behind his back; he looked more like a movie star than an important military officer. "I have to admit," he said, "even though you were utterly outgunned, you kept on fighting regardless. I commend your tenacity, mister…?"

"_Doctor. _Dr. Eggman."

"Dr. Eggman?" said the young officer, cracking a smirk. "I am Colonel Garma Zabi, Commissar of the Zeon Earth Expeditionary Forces. I assume you know that you're under arrest?"

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **A very big thanks to SonicEvan of ASO for taking time to help me with lore questions.

**UPDATE 3.26.19**: A quick word regarding the Death Egg 2's power ring shield. Even though it allowed Eggman to deflect Naugus' magic and a small Freedom Fighter attack, it doesn't make it indestructible, it merely amplifies the defenses. A swarm of Dopps, AA artillery, and MPC fire from a flight of Gaws could bring it down.


	9. Amuro Ray: Destroy Gundam!

**Side 7 Airspace**

**September 18, UC 0079**

**1650 Hours**

* * *

"_Amuro, pull back!"_ Bright yelled over the radio _"That red Zaku's too much for you! You can't beat him!"_

"No way!" Amuro protested. "I can do it! I didn't have the beam rifle before and I still took two out! I'll do it!" He had the targeting computer on and was focused on a red spot in the distance. The scope zoomed, he could clearly see the Zaku. "That's close enough!"

The shot missed. The target swiftly dodged it.

The Gundam was rocked by machine gun fire, but the shield it had equipped blocked the rounds.

Amuro tried to shoot the Zaku again, but once more, the beam rifle didn't hit it. _So this is combat?!_

The red mobile suit fired its machine gun again. Amuro shielded himself, but one lucky bullet hit the camera in the Gundam's head. The monitor was replaced by snow.

"Sub-cameras!" Amuro frantically changed frequency on the console to reach another camera on the Gundam. Once he did, though, the screen showed the foot of that red Zaku coming straight at him.

* * *

Char couldn't help but smile. This new mobile suit was impressively designed, but it was only as good as the guy inside of it.

Instruments detected a heat source close on his four. "There you are, Slender," he said. "Get behind him! Let's finish him off! We'll pay him back for Denim!"

_"Yes, sir. Roger that!"_

The two Zakus opened fire on the white suit; Char above and Slender below. Their target even lost its shield in the rain of bullets.

"Bye-bye," Char said, smugly. The smile on his face melted away quickly: even though they scored direct hits on it, the machine guns didn't so much as scratch it.

The mobile suit tried firing off its weapon again. Char dodged.

_"Commander, this is it!"_ yelled Slender. _"The weapon that killed Ash with just one shot!"_

"That doesn't matter if he can't hit you," said Char. "Cover me, Slender!"

Slender's Zaku headed back toward Char's position, strafing the Federation mobile suit. But as the corporal's suit fired away, its target was point its gun right at it. A pink bolt appeared between them.

BOOM!

_Jesus!_ Char couldn't believe his eyes. The Federation had somehow developed a miniature mega particle cannon of sorts. The only thing they had that could sink a Zaku in one hit prior to this was a battleship gun. Yet static was all he was getting from his channel with Slender.

* * *

"_Amuro, get out of there!"_ Bright ordered. _"The starboard mega particle cannon will cover you."_

_I don't need you to lose sleep over me. _Amuro frantically fired the beam rifle at the remaining red Zaku. If it could one-shot a regular one, then the same could be said for this modified one. However, every time it wound up in his crosshairs, it moved away.

Finally, it got to the point where the gun wouldn't fire.

_"Amuro! You've used up all its energy!" _said Bright.

"Now you tell me," Amuro groaned. Bright was right: the energy gauge had bottomed out. _Damn! Is this it?_

Machine gun fire shook the Gundam again, but Amuro remembered the shoulder-mounted launcher. Claymore rounds rocketed toward the Zaku, only to be sidestepped.

A blinding pink ray suddenly ripped between the Zaku and the Gundam.

The red mobile suit turned tail and got out of there.

Somehow, Amuro had gotten a lucky break.

* * *

The Gundam touched down in the _White Base_'s starboard hangar. Recovery operations were under way.

Ryu Jose was at the console when it touched down. "It's in," he told the tech. "Close the hangar doors."

"Can we give you a hand?"

Ryu took notice of Kai Shiden and Hayato Kobayashi approaching, gripping the rail pulleys used in zero-G conditions like this one. "Wait, it's dangerous," he told them. "It's not pressurized yet."

"Ah, I see."

Ryu laughed. "Well, you got guts."

The Gundam stomped into the hangar, its hull pretty scratched up and smoking. The maintenance crew was ordered to scramble."'

Kai turned to Hayato. "Yo, Hayato. You know what? I think Amuro's in that thing."

"Wha? That guy?"

"'cause his Dad made it. Maybe that's good. A team."

* * *

The bridge crew of the _Falmel_ stood in attention as the lasercomm picked up an incoming call. The density of Minovsky particles in the area kicked up by the fight with the new Federation mobile suit caused the video to distort, but the audio was fine.

_"Ohh, it's you. What is it? I'd hoped to celebrate the end of your mission last night. But because you were dawdling all the preparations went to waste."_

The distortion of the video gradually eased down, revealing Vice Admiral Dozle Zabi: a giant of a man and Char's former headmaster from when he was in military school.

"This should make up for the missed feast, Admiral," Char told him. "We've discovered the Federation's Operation V."

"WHAT?!"

"Yes, sir! Side 7's construction block was indeed a secret factory," Char continued. "They already have a prototype and that supply ship has enough firepower to rate as a battleship."

Dozle grinned. _"That's good info,"_ he said. _"As I'd expect from the Red Comet. So what do you want?"_

"We paid a high price to gauge the abilities of their mobile suits," he said. "Five of the Zakus assigned to us have been sunk."

_"You lost a whole team of Zakus?"_ Dozle said, flabbergasted. _"Someone of your caliber?"_

"Please remember this: the enemy's new mobile suits are that powerful. They could turn the tide of the whole war.  
Dozle sighed. Char may be right. _"I get it. You want supplies, you'll get 'em."_

"I understand, sir," said Char. "I'll capture their mobile suits and I'll sink the ship. No matter what, they won't reach Earth."

_"That's more like it,"_ said Dozle. _"That's the Char I know."  
_

* * *

Amuro stepped out of the bridge elevator, escorted by Ryu. Even though he was happy to see Fraw Bow still safe, the young lieutenant junior grade was casting a stern look on the boy.

He approached Amuro and he looked everything but impressed. "So you're Amuro?" he asked. "You've got a lot to learn. Use of the Gundam in combat must be more efficient. We have no spare parts for these prototypes. These components can't be wasted!"

"What?" Amuro didn't believe this. He was thinking he'd get a "thank you" or something, not be grilled.

"So this was your first time piloting it?" the officer asked. "That's no excuse! Now the Gundam's in your hands. You're a pilot! You have a duty to protect this ship."

Amuro hung his head slightly, but didn't lose eye contact.

"Our situation requires me to say this. If you're going to do this, listen up. Otherwise, you can go back to Side 7!"

Fraw cut between the two of them in an attempt to cover for Amuro, but the boy shoved her aside.

Amuro knew very well. The ship didn't have another pilot. He was it. "I didn't say I'd do it and I don't know whether I can or not," said Amuro. "But I guess I don't have a choice, do I? Your name is Bright, isn't it? In that case…"

"Sure," said Bright. "Feel free to hate me. That will be all. Go get the Gundam fixed up. The mechanics are at your disposal. See to it." He walked away from the boy, gazing out into the stars ahead. "Amuro, don't make me regret my decision. If you do, I'll make sure that you'll regret it even more."

* * *

Freedom HQ: former base of operations of the Knothole Freedom Fighters, now an outpost for the Republic of Acorn. The cave was discovered by Sonic, Sally, and their friends back when they were just kids and Tails had barely gotten out of diapers; now, not a decade later, it was their stopping point at the end of the first day of the search for Bunnie.

Though Sally had gone to sleep, Sonic wasn't so lucky.

The hedgehog found himself on the sofa in the common room, staring up at the limestone ceiling. Coming back here was always a bittersweet experience, but Sonic never really had much time to settle back and contemplate the whole thing. He was only five years old when he'd first come to Knothole after being forced to flee Mobotropolis, the former capitol of Acorn, because of the Great War. It was intended to be a temporary stay, but after Julian's putsch he and his friends would be permanent residents. Even after the fact, old Colonel Stripe didn't want to throw in the towel. He kept waging guerilla war and sabotage operations against the tyrant.

He became their model.

Sonic rolled over on the sofa. He no longer faced the ceiling, but the Great Oak Slide.

Suddenly, in his mind's eye, he saw himself roll out of the hollow trunk.

Then, more figures joined in. _"Sonic! My hero! Were you battling dozens of Robotnik's evil androids again?"_

_"Well, I hate to brag, Tails, but…"_

_"But he will…_ _give him a chance!"_

_ "Bragging's one thing, Rotor, leaving a trail for Robotnik to follow is another!"_

_ "Have no fear, your royal worry wort! I took off at warp sonic speed! My feet never touched the ground!"_

_ "Hmmph!"_

Echoes from the past, visions of what was.

The hit-and-run ops started by Stripe against Robotnik hadn't ceased, but things seemed to be sillier, as if the direness of the Great War's aftermath had given way to some cornball gag comic for a time before things gradually normalized. It all happened, though: a giant salamander robot, a termite badnik that grew whenever it ate wood, and a phony fast food joint that gave everyone an artificial virus.

Sonic got off the couch and made his way out the door, holding an electric lantern.

It wasn't a very long walk to reach Eggman's handiwork. Flattened and burned shacks, broken palisades and fences, and the remains of the castle walls. The sad, hopeless condition of the remnants of the settlement hit the hedgehog like a freight train. He'd always tried to be a tough guy and wisecracker, but being in the Great Wastes by himself in the middle of the night really made Sonic feel like the last person on Mobius. He could see what Mina meant about not being able to translate the sight to words.

Sonic laid eyes on the remains of a tree, now just reduced to a scorched, limbless trunk near the remains of a few huts. Voices flooded his mind again: _"What's it like to beat up Robotnik?" "How fast can you run?" "Didja punch him in the nose?" "Where can I get shoes like yours?"_

Kids, all antsy to hear stories about his exploits against the former Warlord.

He blinked back a tear. Their Robotnik was dead, but they were fighting one from another world who took his place. Robotropolis, the city formerly known as Mobotropolis, was reduced to an atomic hellhole through GUN's ICBMs and shortly after Bunnie and Antoine got married, the Egg Fleet razed Knothole to the ground.

Day by day, it seemed as more and more of the old world was being wiped away. Triply so since the whole Mega Man adventure.

Sonic had given the gist about what had happened to the geography to Sally on the way over; thankfully the location hadn't been overwritten by Eggman. But would the same be said for the Great Desert?

He looked skyward. It was a clear night: countless stars and a nearly-invisible sliver of light, signifying the moon. _The sky at night hasn't changed, _Sonic thought. _Are we still on Mobius? Did we travel through time?_


	10. Sonic and Sally: Curiouser and Curiouser

**Eastern Edge of the Great Desert**

**September 19, "3237"**

**1006 Hours, MST**

A yellow cloud of dust was billowing over the hilly shrubland beneath an overcast sky. Its source, a blue hedgehog carrying a chipmunk in his arms, bridal-style, began to decelerate.

Running from Freedom HQ to the east limit of the Great Desert wasn't the furthest Sonic had ever run in one go, but the extra weight of Sally used a little more oomph. Not that he minded, it was just like the days of the First Robotnik War. "How about we take a quick break, Sal?" he asked.

"Sounds like a good idea," said Sally.

They found a large boulder and sat down. "So far, not that different," Sonic remarked. "Apart from a few towns that weren't there before Eggman screwed with the world, things look almost the same."

"I just hope the others back home will be okay without us," said Sally, turning her head back in the direction from where they'd come. "The sooner we find Bunnie, the better."

"Tails and Amy are there," Sonic assured her, "Rotor's group can hold its own, plus Nicole's back. They'll be fine."

"I'm just worried about Eggman mounting another attack on the city," she admitted. "We can't be gone too long."

"Chill, Sal," Sonic told her, "I know exactly where to find her, but I can't make any promises that it's going to be an easy outing."

"What do you mean?"

"I've been to this neck of the woods twice," Sonic said, "once with Tails and again with Bunnie. When we find the Baron, we'll find her, too."

"Baron?"

"Her uncle, Baron Beauregard Rabbot. He's the Grandmaster of the Great Desert Chapter of the Dark Egg Legion."

Sally's head jerked toward Sonic in disbelief. "Bunnie's uncle works for Eggman?"

"But not by choice," Sonic added. "Beau was roboticized a long time ago, but after he and a group of other Robians were reverted back to normal, they were screwed over by that asshole Jack Rabbit. He's a good man, but the only reason he even joined Eggman in the first place was because he had no choice."

"Jack turned them away?"

"When I thought making me into a glorified hostage was the lowest he could go, get grabbed a shovel and dug deeper. To think his goons have the balls to call themselves Freedom Fighters! They're always going at it with Beau's group! It's not the Chapter you need to watch out for, where we're going, it's the Sand Blasters."

Sally hung her head and thought to herself. To think that a group of Mobians were outcast simply because Robotnik got to them! Roboticization was an awful process, removing one's free will to be forced into a collective. The Sand Blasters didn't seem to be able to forgive something those same outcasts had no choice in. She stood up and walked toward the hill on their right.

"Where are you going, Sal?" asked Sonic.

"Just to the bathroom," she told him, "and after that a quick look around before we set out again."

Sonic chuckled, "Okay, but don't bite off more than you can chew! Don't want Jack to get the drop on us again."

She smirked and headed uphill.

Left alone, Sonic reclined on the rock and stared up into the clouds. They looked like torn-up pillow stuffing, slightly grey. From the way they looked, he wouldn't worry about rain. _Have I really become like an overprotective grandma? _Sonic asked himself. _It's not like Sal can't handle herself, she's not a baby, but after just getting her back I really don't want to see her become a robot a third time! _"Oh, what am I worrying about? She just had to pee. It's no big—!"

"Sonic! Come here!"

_Oh no, what happened!?_ Sonic sat up and got off the rock. He zipped up the hill and found Sally, standing in the middle of a patch of brush. Beyond the princess, was something neither expected.

Sonic turned his head from left to right, surveying his surroundings. A paved road was ahead, with a large crater in the center, dividing it. In fact, there were several craters nearby, alongside a devastated vehicle: a bridge-layer with a deep-green chassis. Its right treads had been broken and the windshield shattered. The hydraulic arm had apparently malfunctioned when the machine was totaled, opening the bridge part way before breaking in the dirt. Further ahead was the twisted remains of a tank with twin barrels on what was left of its turret. "Damn! What happened here?"

"It looks like a battle broke out here some time ago," said Sally, "but these don't look like any vehicles I've ever seen!"

Sonic moved up to the door to the bridge-layer's cockpit. It had a tan decal on it: a downward-pointing pentagon, house-shaped, with an anchorlike insignia with the letters "EFGF" above it. "Not one of GUN's, and definitely not an Eggman contraption." Beyond the two wrecks, a green road sign, bent and twisted—no doubt from the battle that scrapped the two nearby machines. The wording on it was still readable: ENTERING EL PASO CITY LIMIT. Sure enough, the skyline of a large city could be seen nearby, only a short run away for Sonic. "Definitely never saw that place before and it sure ain't Sand Blast."

"You mean it could be a geographical change caused by the Genesis Waves?" Sally asked.

"No doubt," said the hedgehog. "Let's go check it out."

"Alright, but be careful," the princess told him. "We don't know what the people living there are like." She hopped back into his arms and they were off once more.

* * *

Naugus stood in front of the sink in the men's room at the Council building. The basin had filled quite a bit, enough for him to dip out some water to rub in his eyes. He found himself breathing heavily, even though he didn't run a yard.

He could see the reflection of Geoffrey St. John's body in the mirror, which he now inhabited. The face morphed from that of a skunk to a bat. _"How utterly droll," _the reflection cackled, _"you actually thought that stealing your student's body would make us go away!"_

"Shut up, Nusgau!" Naugus growled.

The face shifted to that of a lobster. _"Your reign stands on a knife's edge,"_ it said. _"One more inch and your kingdom will cease to be yours." _The lobster then became a rhino. _"That is, if the fusion doesn't break first."_

"Freeloaders! Parasites! I will be rid of you all!"

_"How would you propose to do that?" _the rhino begged.

"I would hardly tell any of you," he said. _Even though the AI has returned, perhaps she can be useful in this regard._

Naugus stormed out of the restroom. He'd had enough of the three wizards who composed his body a long time ago.

Naugus came to the main chamber, where the six members, Sir Charles Hedgehog, Rosemary Prower, Isabella Mongoose, Hamlin Pig, Dylan Porcupine, and Penelope Platypus, were seated. "Upon His Majesty's request," he announced, "I will take the place of the king during his absence and relay the proceedings to him after adjournment."

* * *

Sonic and Sally roamed the streets of the city just to look around. At first, the whole place seemed to be deserted, save for the occasional car. The sidewalk was lightly littered and mounds of smashed concrete had been shoved against the sides of buildings. It was like a warzone.

The two turned a corner, to find a man in a green collar shirt walking by on the other side of the street. The thing that raised eyebrows, though, was his race. _A humanoid in Northamer? _Sally thought, _Can't tell if it's a human or an Overlander from over here, but they usually aren't outside the UF._

They kept looking around, taking in such sights as a parked tank and a large anti-aircraft gun positioned on a street corner. More humanoids were eventually seen, but the mode carried guns and wore uniforms: Army-green, with Russet leather gloves, boots, and helmet.

Most of these men, obviously military, didn't seem to notice Sonic and Sally. The ones who did, tended to stare. At least one of them thought they were kids trying out something called "Halloween costumes" a month early.

Sally tried to keep her cool, despite this. The last thing they wanted was undesired attention.

Another common sight were red-black-and-white banners hung on the lampposts and posters everywhere: a giant red fist smashing a table as its well-dressed patrons ran for their lives, captioned "Down with Corruption!"; a handcuffed man holding his arms over his head triumphantly and busted the chains with a loud "Enough!", the words "UC 0058" were featured prominently; frequent notices on buildings ordering civilians to observe a 10:00PM to 5:00AM curfew. "I'm getting major Robotnik vibes from around here," said Sonic. However, neither the former War Minister Julian Kintobor nor his successor Eggman was getting any limelight from these people. The hedgehog ripped one poster off the side of a building and approached his partner. "I have been seeing this dude's picture everywhere since we found this city," he said. "What's his story?"

Sally looked at it: a stoic, bearded humanoid with dark hair, wearing a khaki jacket and tie. She read the only thing printed on it: "'Deikun'?"

A building straight ahead caught the princess' eye, its entrance flanked on either side by two flags, the same red-white-and-black flags used to make the banners on the street, complete with the symbol in the middle which resembled a cross between an arrow and a rose. The words on the marquee above made their jaws drop. It read "Zeon/Earth Friendship Center".

_Earth?  
_

* * *

Snively knew he was still a prisoner, transferred from the Death Egg II to this land-based battleship their captors called a Gallop. Nevertheless, he was tickled to see his sort-of-uncle brought down like this. "How does it feel to be a prisoner for once?"

Eggman glared at the long-nosed Overlander from the opposite side of the brig. "Watch your mouth," he told him, "you didn't supplant me this time, either."

"True," Snively admitted, unfazed, "but do you have a plan of getting out? I doubt you've recovered your roboticization touch."

"And you can't contact your precious Regina, either!" Eggman shot back. "But then again, you couldn't take over my empire with her, so how would the two of you fare against these people?" He grinned maliciously, "But then again, she's probably so smitten by that copy of yours I'd made that she'd dismiss it as a bad joke."

Snively gripped the bars with all his might and slipped down to his knees.

"Metal Sonic and Mecha Sally were a hundred times more effective subordinates than you ever were," Eggman said, coldly. "You fancy yourself as a king, but after Regina was beaten you came crawling back to me like a worm, and that's exactly what you are. A worm."

Snively said nothing, just stared down at the floor of the brig.

"Oh? Did I hurt your feelings?" Eggman sarcastically queried.

The door to the brig opened. Two Zeon soldiers stepped in and proceeded to Eggman's cell. The doctor was ordered out at gunpoint.

He was led out, leaving his crestfallen quasi-nephew behind to soak in his sorrow.

* * *

Nothing could really be said to describe the room that Eggman was sent to. It was small, had nothing in it but a chair, with blank walls. It wouldn't take a genius to guess what its function was. The two men who'd led him here were standing right outside should he attempt anything rash.

Through the door came Garma Zabi, the young commissar who'd triumphed over the Dark Egg Legion. There wasn't even a slight hint of gloating coming from him. He meant business.

"I can't say I've ever heard of a place called Zeon," said Eggman, albeit a bit bitterly.

"Despite the Revolution of 0058 and a war that's lasted a little more than nine months?" Garma asked, incredulously.

"I don't know what all happened, but the Super Genesis Wave rewrote reality to some extent. I still don't understand how so many humans still exist on Mobius, but—!"

"Mobius?" Garma inquired.

"That's the name of this planet, isn't it?"

"I am not amused, doctor," said Garma, who thought the man before him was playing around. "We are on Earth and I am willing to…"

"Earth? Did you say 'Earth'?" asked Eggman.

"Yes," Garma told him, "and I am getting tired of your games."

_This _is _Mobius, but eons ago!_

"Tell me more about the new Federation warship you were testing," the captor demanded.

"Federation?" the doctor said, flabbergasted. "That was my own creation. I am Dr. Eggman, emperor of the Eggman Empire and supreme commander of the Dark Egg Legion! The only 'federation' I know of is the United Federation, and it's on the other side of the Central Sea!"

Garma stared blankly at the man. "You say you've never heard of Zeon, despite your age and current events, while I've never heard of a 'Central Sea', nor even the ever-so creatively named Eggman Empire and Dark Egg Legion. Furthermore, the only federation known is the Earth Federation, rather than the United."

Eggman glared at Garma. At times like this, he really wished the Bem didn't convert him to an organic being. One poke of a finger and he would have been an android under his command, as would have been everyone on the Gallop.

"You brought up a… Super Genesis Wave?" Garma asked.

"A phenomenon harnessing chaos energy. An annoying blue rodent kept wrecking my plans over the years and became stronger by absorbing it through the Chaos Emeralds, a key source of this power. I created the Death Egg II with the ability to use chaos energy against him. A Genesis Wave can change reality to a varying extent, the factor affecting this being the number of Emeralds used. One emerald can temporarily bend the rules of the universe, all seven can permanently rewrite everything: history, geography, memories..."

Garma still wasn't buying anything. "Emeralds that can potentially reset all of reality? I can say that it's a more creative fiction than your Eggman Empire and Central Sea."

"It's not made-up!" Eggman growled. "The Chaos Emeralds are real objects."

"I think you've said enough for one session, doctor," said Garma. "You discuss your Chaos Emeralds again… with the KSA."

Eggman furrowed his brow and hung his head. He knew he was telling the truth, but the commissar didn't believe a syllable. _I wish Albert were here. I want to throttle him until his eyes pop out.  
_

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

**Very big thanks to SonicEvan again for advice and support.**

For those of you who don't know the Universal Century, during the time when the One Year War went cold in the aftermath of the Antarctic Treaty, Zeon overran the surface of the Earth in a widespread land-grab operation to find resources. These "drop operations" saw North America, most of Africa, Eastern Europe, and Oceania fall under Zeon control; roughly half the planet's surface had been annexed by the start of the events of the original _Gundam._


	11. White Base: Strike the Enemy Supply Ship

**EFS _White Base_, en route to Luna 2**

**September 20, UC 0079**

**1038 Hours (L2T)**

* * *

Less than forty-eight hours had elapsed since the _White Base_ left Side 7. The battleship had recovered its objective, but the fighting at the colony saddled her with the role of civilian transport: something the ship was never intended for.

This morning, Fraw Bow was making her rounds delivering rations. The kids pitched in and helped out.

The residential block was pretty packed, especially in the sick bay area. It wasn't that these people were wounded, there just wasn't a lot of space for them aboard and many pitched camp in the hallway. On either side of the corridor, a swarm of refugees, about twenty all together, were crowded along the walls. They looked pretty bored and weary.

"Excuse me," said Fraw. "May I pass?"

The refugees glanced at the rations cart. Only a few of them showed their disgust for its contents: "Cans again?" "Isn't there anything else?" "Canned stuff again, really?"

"You don't like canned food?" Kikka snarled. For such a little kid, she was a bit intimidating at times, as the refugees soon discovered. The lot of them recoiled as she gave them a look that could kill. "Fine, then. No canned food for you!"

Katz was unnerved by the toddler's aggressiveness as well, and had to yank her back by the back of her tank top.

Fraw tried to be more civil. "I'm sorry, that's all we have."

The crowd finally made a hole and the four were able to keep going.

"Excuse me, miss!" a woman called from a cabin ahead on the left.

Fraw wasted no time getting there, to find a small room with about a dozen people crammed inside. A woman in the corner with messy hair was holding a very cranky baby in her arms and she looked as if she hadn't slept since the ship left the bunch.

"I keep asking for hot water for milk," the exhausted mother complained.

"We're low on water," said Fraw, trying to deal with the pressure on her shoulders, "but we'll be at the Luna II base soon."

"Isn't this ship headed straight to Earth?!" a man nearby asked.

"That's not what I heard," said a different woman.

Soon, Fraw and the three children were surrounded by the clamoring refugees, all complaining about a lack of supplies and demanding to know their destination. It was like a zombie movie.

"Be quiet!" Suddenly, the yammering DPs fell silent. Sayla, now sporting an enlisted women's Federation uniform, stood among the crowds. "What selfishness," she said, sternly. "Stop it! Have you forgotten?! You're lucky to have survived Side 7!"

Aside from that baby's crying, there was silence. Sayla had diffused the situation as if she were a Mary Sue.

* * *

_So many civilians we have to babysit, _Bright thought. _As if Char hadn't made things tougher on us by tailing the ship to Side 7, now we're waist-deep in non-combatants. It would be nice if the return trip to Jaburo would be easier, but I'm not getting my hopes up._

The door to the elevator slid open. Sayla stepped in, leaving a hallway congested with people behind her. She stood next to Bright, and turned to face the doorway as it shut.

Bright glanced sideways at the girl. _Figure out a way to break the ice, Bright. _He cleared his throat. "That's civilians for you," he chuckled. "Just plain selfish, making excuses, demanding this or that…"

She didn't respond.

_Not one for chatter about the moment, huh?_ "So you were a medical student at Side 7," he said, shifting the subject. "And before?"

Sayla cracked a little smile and asked "Is that a question or an order?"

_Didn't see that coming. _"Nah! It's my first time," said Bright, still trying to play Mr. Calm, Cool, and Collected. "In space, I mean. I've been at headquarters for some time now…"

"So, you're one of the elite."

His façade was beginning to show cracks once she said this. "Sarcasm?"

"Not really," said Sayla, "but making excuses—that's unacceptable. Right, lieutenant?"

The elevator whooshed open once it reached the top of the shaft. Both entered the bridge.

"Still pursuing, Mr. Bright," Oscar reported.

"You're sure it's Char's Musai?"

"I've been tracking it, no mistake."

"I doubt he'll try anything now," said Mirai, at the ship's wheel.

"Why not?" Bright asked.

"Well, a matter of resources," Mirai opined. "They only have one Zaku, so they can't fight in Luna II's backyard."

_Bigger guns, huh?_ Bright thought.

Sayla approached the telemotor and offered to take over the helm so Mirai could take a break. Mirai agreed to the switch up and gave a quick crash course

Mirai took a seat at the communications terminal on the starboard side of the bridge. "If I were Char, I wouldn't attack. I'd call for resupply."

As if on cue, Oscar called out. "Char's Musai! Another ship's approaching it!"

Bright looked up at Oscar's side of the 360⁰ panel. Two blips: one was clearly the shape of a Musai, but it seemed to be sitting out there. Another object was slowly advancing toward it. "It's not a cruiser," he said, "is it from Luna II?"

"No, sir," said Oscar, "something else. It's a Zeon ship, a big one! Looks like a Papua supply ship! They'll make contact in ten minutes!"

* * *

"Amuro! Are you in there?" Having finished rations duty, Fraw Bow entered the port hangar with a cloth bag. She found the Gundam with numerous hoses attached to various spots on its chassis, and its cockpit hatch open. It was still pretty scuffed up from the fighting from the other day. That was where she looked for her old charge first, but she found another guy instead, a swarthy man with an afro. "I'm sorry," she said. "Where's Amuro?"

The hissing of a welding torch above attracted the girl's attention. She could see the backside of a pair of blue jeans and tennis shoes leaning over the suit's V-shaped crest, though the left side had been detached during repairs.

She swam up to him in the zero-G. "Amuro," she said, warmly. "I brought you some food and some fresh clothes. You should change your clothes or you'll get stinky."

Amuro finally righted himself. He had an air of dejection about his face.

"Is it what Bright said? Don't mind him."

"That's not it," the boy admitted. "That's why I'm doing this. I don't want to die." Amuro drifted over to the separated fin and snapped it back into place. A tough job under Earth's gravity, but no sweat when there wasn't any. "Besides, I was the one who broke it." He looked back at Fraw to see that she was dressed differently than she was yesterday, her green dress had been replaced by salmon-colored one. However, this one looked more… official.

"Like it?" she asked, as she recovered her friend's dirty jacket. "It's a cadet's uniform. Sayla and Mirai are wearing crewman's clothes, but somehow—!"

_Bee-bee-beep! Bee-bee-beep! Bee-bee-beep! Woop, woop, woop, woop, womp, womp, weep, weep, weep!_

The sound of the alarm stopped everyone from what they were doing, including Amuro. Bright's voice blared across the PA: "All hands to the auxiliary bridge! Report now!"

"That means everyone!" said Fraw. "You too, Amuro!"

* * *

The auxiliary bridge was more or less the same size as the main bridge, but being lower on the superstructure than the main bridge, the field of view outside was less expansive.

About sixty crewmen gathered in the room, but the murmuring among them ceased as Bright took his position before a large, octagonal monitor on the wall.

All eyes were on him and he began: "Char's Musai has taken substantial losses while pursuing us, but it's about to be resupplied! If so, all we've accomplished will be for nothing! Char will once again be able to attack us! So what now? Do we just sit and wait or what?" He noticed the hand of a female crewman go up. He pointed toward her, allowing her to speak.

"Shouldn't we drop off the refugees and injured at Luna II first?" she asked.

A number of voices were raised in favor of this suggestion. "We could drop them off first," one ensign suggested, "then get back up from the Luna II forces."

"If we do that," said Mirai, "they'll finish resupplying! We can win right now! They only have Char's Zaku!"

The ensign balked. "But it the _White Base_ gets damaged—!"

"There's one way we can fight without endangering the ship," Bright interrupted, "a mobile suit attack! The same tactic they used against us." He faced another ensign, this one on his left and spoke "Watts, how many operational Guncannons do we have?"

"Three units! And if the enemy's altitude is low, we can use the three Guntanks as well."

Another arm was raised in the back. "Sir, who'll be piloting them? Two Guncannon pilots and Guntank 3's Sabu and Chief Abe are dead!"

"I'll go out in Unit 3," said Ryu, "but if I'm driving it, I'll need a gunner."

Another hand went up, but this only went up to face-level with most of the others in the room when it was standing still. It belonged to Hayato Kobayashi. "I'll do it," he offered. "Ryu's been training me on the aircraft guns. I can handle them! The secret of competition is not to miss a chance! Like they say, 'If they push, then pull. If they pull, then push'." The stocky young man blushed a little. He twiddled his fingers in embarrassment, thinking he was metaphorically jumping into this blindfolded. "That's in reference to judo, but—!" A slap on the back and an accolade from Kai Shiden forced him to stop.

While Kai's goading spooked Hayato, a collection of shouts from the back caught everyone off guard. The kids had tagged along and joined in the briefing. They were the most gung-ho out of everyone in the room. "Kill Char!" they said, "Let's kick his butt!" Fraw had to quell the trio.

"That's the Guntanks cleared," Bright noted. "And the Guncannons?" One young man, who could pass for a young Gene Wilder raised his hand. "Okay, Petty Officer Job John. Who else?"

Kai, as giddy as a little kid wanting to get a ride in his cousin's golf cart, came forward. "Me, me, me! Leave it to me, sir."

"I don't know about weapons," said Watts, "but Kai Shiden's got a car-racing rep."

"Amuro got the new one," he said, "an old one will do for me."

"Then that's that," said Bright. "Now the Gundam. Amuro! Are you here?"

"Yes, I'm here," he said. Now dressed in a male enlisted crew uniform, but far from used to the collar, he was kind of in the back, next to Fraw and the kids.

The mutual sense of friction from Amuro's official assignment to the Gundam could be felt between the two.

"Very well," said Bright. "You'll take the Gundam."

"Not the Gundam," said Amuro. "It's not going."

Bright was turning toward the monitor as Amuro said this, but the boy's stopped him from proceeding. "What's that?"

"The Gundam's under repair! It can't go out now."

"Is that so? Omur! Can we use the Gundam?"

"Y-Yes, sir!" said Omur. "Drive system maintenance is done. A little more time to work on it, then yes, it could go out."

Bright smirked. _Thought you could call the shots, Amuro? _

"It's still no good!" Amuro said, with a raised voice, "I'm not going out! The Gundam's top secret and its components can't be wasted, right? Then let someone else do it! Someone other than me!"

The way things were going it seemed like it was going to be fist city in a second, but Mirai approached Bright's side. "Don't force him," she told him. "Even without the Gundam this is a viable strategy! As Amuro says, we should conserve what resources we can."

_Fine, I'll give you this one, Amuro. But next time, you'd better think twice. _"All right. We'll take the opportunity to get the Gundam up to 120%. Quiet down, here's the plan!" As soon as Bright pressed the button on the remote in his hand.

A recreation of a section of the Luna II surface was displayed. White silhouettes of the _White Base_, a Papua, and a Musai could be seen. Bright continued: "Char's Musai is trying to slip through Luna II's surveillance. It'll approach the surface and contact the supply ship." The Musai and Papua's shapes met in a large crater. "The resupply work will probably take place here. They'll turn the crater into a lake of Minovsky particles and work in the middle of this." The screen shifted to a side view of the crater; the _White Base _trundled up to the right-hand edge of the crater. "We'll coordinate the ship and the suits and hit them!"

* * *

The sun poked out from behind the turquoise Papua as it descended into the crater. The model dated back to about the same time the Zabis had firmly consolidated their control during the aftermath of founder Deikun's death. Ten years old and already a dinosaur: gradually being phased out by the new Pazock transports. Char himself was surprised to see the old rust bucket still on active duty.

The lasercomm turned on, but the image on the screen couldn't be made out clearly. The Minovsky concentration in the crater had distorted the audio and video coming from the Papua. It cleared up after a short while, but the static remained. Soon, a helmeted man with sideburns that connected with his mustache could be seen, though the picture was still a bit warped. _"The Red Comet calling for supplies in the middle of an operation!" _he exclaimed. _"Did you screw up?"_

"I've been fighting the enemy's new mobile suits," said Char, "so it was worth it."

_"That so? Don't know about that, but can't we wrap this up quick? The Minovsky particles are so thick here—_ZZT_—feels like—_ZZRT_—drowning…"_

Turning to his underlings, Char gave the order to commence resupply operations immediately. He'd taken a risk having this happen under the Feddies' noses and wasn't prepared to get captured.

* * *

The _White Base_ hovered above the surface of the asteroid, perhaps only about thirty feet, with her hangars open.

At the back of the line of the port hangar, in the driver's seat of Guntank-3, Ryu made one last minute diagnostics run before his time to launch. The intercom had just announced that Guncannon-2, piloted by Job John, had just launched from starboard. Kai got called to the catapult next.

Ryu could hear everything going on. If it wasn't real, Kai's launch would have been a great comedy scene, but he was going out into the field. Apparently, he didn't squat down on the catapult and made a crash landing, grinding the surface of Luna II. His screaming could be heard over the radio. "What an idiot," Ryu grumbled. "Under Earth gravity he'd have crashed and burned." The sergeant turned to the ladder on his right, which led up to the turret. It was Hayato's first time, too and he needed a word of encouragement. "Hey, Judo! No need to worry. We'll take it nice and slow!"

Now it was time for the Guntanks to head out. These didn't require catapults for launching like the Gundam and Guncannons did, they had thrusters underneath for a short boost to jump and slow descent.

* * *

Three Guncannons bounced across the surface of the asteroid, while a trio of Guntanks followed at a distance. From the bridge of the _White Base_, Bright, Mirai, and the rest of the bridge crew stared out into moonscape ahead. All the ship could do right now was wait.

A transmission crackled over the loudspeaker: _"This is Job John. The crater will soon be in visual range, continue at constant velocity!_ White Base, _do you copy?"_

Bright picked up the phone by the captain's chair and connected with the suits. "This is _White Base_. Roger. The enemy is at rest and beginning resupply. Don't rush, just surround them! On your signal, we'll begin crossfire from the rim! Understood?"

_"Yes, sir!"_

"They may tap into our lasercomm line, so we're ceasing transmission. Good luck." He hung up.

Bright's spirit was soaring. They didn't need Amuro after all. If things played out as smoothly as this, that Papua would be reduced to a twisted wreck, or better yet, the Musai as well. After the beating Char had taken at Side 7, he'd be outgunned. If the Red Comet goes down, they'll all be heroes!

"Shall we advance in battle mode?" asked Mirai.

Bright was abruptly drawn back into the moment. "Forward at low speed!" he ordered. "Cannons stand by!"

* * *

"You know those double Komusais?" Dren said, staring out at two spacecraft in front of the _Falmel_'s bridge. "I never liked 'em. The equipment balance is lousy. Like a "Mama Komusai"—" The lieutenant's griping was cut short by an incoming transmission from the Papua.

The transport's captain, Gadem, was seen on the monitor again, this time much more clearly. _"Char! Here come your Zakus."_

"It's not a full team," Char noted, "just three units, and early models at that." MS-06Cs, the second variant of the Zaku II after Rear Admiral Kycilia Zabi declared the first unfit for service. They had taken the back seat in the war since the current MS-06F models became the mainstay of the military. The Type-C's greatest moment was Loum, but started to become archaic in the aftermath of the Type-F rolling off the assembly line in March.

"_If you have a complaint,"_ said Gadem, _"go tell Admiral Dozle! Just means folks at the top are tryin' to make ends meet."_

The bridge was rocked by a sudden shock.

"Ganz, damage report!" Char demanded. "I need it now!"

"Damage to the Papua's conveyor pipes," the tech reported. "Our ship's undamaged!"

"Gadem, what's your situation?"

_"One of our conduits is gone. No more supplies by that route."_

More explosions. The officers on the bridge all but panicked. "The Papua is burning!" "We're surrounded!"

"Return fire!" Dren ordered.

"Still charging," Ganz responded. "Three minutes to go."

Dren clinched his fists in frustration. At the rate they were going, they might not have three minutes!

Char, however, gazed out toward the ridge from where they were being fired upon. "Is it out there? Is that mobile suit out there? The white one?"

"No, sir!" said Ganz. "They're all old models."

"Then there's no cause for alarm!" the Comet announced. "Don't panic! Return fire and keep their heads down!" He faced the monitor again. Static. _This isn't an attack by the cowards at Luna II, _Char thought. _That "Trojan Horse"! Pretending to flee… until now, no one has ever outwitted me. Fascinating! A foe I can't afford to underestimate!_

_ "Char!" _the voice of Gadem crackled over the bridge's loudspeaker. _"My ship's done for! Whatever cargo I've got, it's all yours! And these Zakus, too!_ More Zakus? Obviously meant for another unit, but them going to someone else was better than getting scrapped in the wreck.

Nevertheless, Char had a full squad again.

_"Don't worry about me,"_ he said. _"I'll handle these Feddies."  
_

* * *

A well-aimed salvo from Guntank-3 scored a direct hit on a Komusai above the smoldering crater. The stricken shuttle took a dive and exploded when it hit the slope, just a short throw away from its killer.

The fireball made Hayato jump. "Ryu!" he yelled. "I can't see well enough to fire!"

It was something Ryu didn't want to hear. "If we're careless, we'll end up firing at each other."

* * *

Visibility wasn't any better for Kai. He had dust and smoke billowing all around his suit, he couldn't just shoot off his beam rifle and expect to hit something.

Suddenly, a pink light glowed ominously in the cloud surrounding him. No sooner did the camera pick up the skull-shaped visage of an MS-05 Zaku I emerge seemingly from nothing.

Kai screamed when he saw the apparition-like machine appear. "What the hell!? I thought there wouldn't be any mobile suits!"

The Guncannon was decked by a strong left hook to the head. Even though that old Zaku had no weapons, it was still going to fight!

Now the Zaku was about to whale on the downed Guncannon, with Kai panicking inside.

Fortunately, the enemy suit bumped into something that knocked it off balance—an artillery barrel, it turned out. The obstacle proceeded to fire a close-range round at the Zaku as it fell, wasting it in one shot.

Kai panted like a dog on a hot day, tears were streaming down his cheeks. This was the closest to death he'd been since that stunt they pulled at the construction block back at Side 7!

A familiar voice could be heard over his radio: _"You alright, Kai? Are you still alive?"_

"Hayato," Kai said, thoroughly grateful for the save, "I owes ya one."

* * *

The crater had become filled with smoke, dust, and fire. The Papua was nothing more than a scrap heap, but the Musai emerged from the clouded depression like a submarine, just below the distant sun. It was trying to get out of Dodge as fast as it could, but the _White Base _had a clear shot at the cruiser.

Bright seized the moment. "Cannons! Target their missile launchers! Don't miss!"

Now or never.

But as the _White Base_ took aim at the fleeing Musai, something moved between the two ships, obscuring the sun's light—a _Magellan_-class battleship, a friendly. Or so it seemed at first…

The bridge received a transmission: _"Report your ship's name and assignment! Who gave you permission to fight a battle in our airspace?! Respond immediately or die!"_

Bright had no choice. The Magellan had her guns trained directly on them.

_"Very well," _the Magellan's skipper continued, _"we see you're not resisting. In the name of Admiral Wakkein, commandant of Luna II, we're taking you into custody!"_

Now or never? Never.

* * *

Originally the asteroid Juno, Luna II was dragged out of its original position in the Asteroid Belt and set opposite the moon for use as a weigh station in colony construction. Since the apocalyptic events of January, it has become the Earth Federation's last space base. At this point in time, it is at its furthest point from Zeon.

Under normal circumstances, the _White Base_ and her crew would have been under much friendlier terms, but after that skirmish earlier, they found themselves confined to the ship. In fact, she was given extra mooring over the incident.

A well-dressed officer entered the base's interrogation room: clean-shaven, white peaked cap with badge, black jacket and white pants, ribbon bars, gold buzz cut—a bigwig just by looking at him. "I am Commandant Wakkein," the man announced, stone-faced. He took notice of the young lieutenant junior grade in the room, flanked by two of his subordinates. "You're acting _White Base _captain Bright Noa, right?"

Bright saluted.

"Sit down," Wakkein ordered. "I've heard your full report and I've inquired at Jaburo about your mission. I am responsible for Luna II; I can't overlook your actions."

A knock came on the door.

"Enter," said the commandant. Another officer entered and saluted Wakkein. "Yes, DeMond?"

"All _White Base_ officers have been taken into custody," he reported. "The others, including refugees, are being held on the ship!"

"Sir, this isn't necessary!" said Bright. "If you've contacted Jaburo, then surely you understand how vital our mission is! Time is of the essence!" With the way he was feeling right now, Bright felt like he could spray fire. "Just now, we had a chance to sink Char's Musai. If it weren't for that Magellan, we'd have defeated the Federation's sworn enemy, the Red Comet!"

"You're saying we got in the way?" the officer of Bright's left asked, not feeling any remorse.

"That's right!"

"Aren't you out of line, lieutenant?" asked the other.

"I appreciate your candor," said Wakkein, "but you don't understand our situation." He looked away. "You have no idea how Luna II managed to survive as a lone island in a Zeon sea. How strategically important it is to maintain the tension here." He faced Bright again. "Also, you've violated military rules. You brought civilians into a secret operation _and put them in uniforms_!"

"But Captain Paolo authorized it!" Bright told him. "So we could tell the replacement crew apart from the other refugees!"

Wakkein wasn't backing down. "There's more. The Gundam you received is AAA classified technology, but you've used it in combat more than once!"

Bright had no defense this time. They had no choice and the first time was never planned.

"Somebody must be held responsible," said Wakkein. "The Gundam will be taken to Jaburo by my men."

"But sir, at least let us drop off the refugees! There's hundreds of them, you can't keep them cooped up inside the ship!"

"We'll see," said Wakkein, "but I don't know if we can fulfill your request."

* * *

The bridge was as dead as a doornail. Sayla, Marker, and Oscar remained at their stations after the ship was impounded, just waiting for whatever was going to happen next. Mirai, did her languishing in the captain's chair. Bright was getting chewed out and Paolo was still in sick bay, so there was no objection.

Mirai faced the two operators. "You can come down now," she told them. "Why not get some rest?"

"That's okay," said Marker, "I can rest just fine up here… and even if we go below, there's refugees everywhere."

Sayla stood on her feet and walked to the viewport. Nothing was out there but a busy docking bay. To Mirai, it seemed the blonde was in a trance, but not quite. Two cryptic words came from her lips: "Someone's coming."

* * *

'My, my, my, there you are, Amuro!" After all that fuss during the briefing about the Gundam not being battle-ready, Fraw was surprised to find Amuro holed up in a cabin in the dark, his head turned away from her. "Well?" she said. "Aren't you busy repairing the Gundam?"

The boy didn't respond.

"Hayato and Kai still haven't come back, and Bright and the others were taken away by the commandant."

Still nothing.

Fraw was getting flustered. "You were even given this fancy room because you're the Gundam's pilot… Amuro, say something!"

She grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled. The boy's eyes had a dead look in them. He was still alive, but something seemed to be bothering him. "Someone's coming," he said in a hushed voice. "Char. Char's coming!"

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

WOOF! This was a long one! After giving Sonic and Sally a bit of attention on "Mobius", you know we'd be going back to the _White Base_ soon enough. I recall people on the internet some fifteen years ago going on about how Amuro looked like a Hobbit, but if you saw the attitude he had early on in the manga, you could easily compare him to a ring-addled Frodo. Especially during the briefing. LOL.

But seriously, we've only covered the equivalent to the first 3.5 episodes of the original series at this point and I am aching to get the ship to Earth. But how will our heroes get out of this pickle?

Also, foreshadowing with Amuro and Sayla!


	12. White Base: The Luna 2 Escape Operation

**I've returned after a bit of a break in order to deal with some IRL stuff. Hopefully we can get back on track with this. Shall we begin?**

* * *

_Like a pattern on a window,_

_The past is near again._

_Someone sang a song to me,_

_One winter night sometime._

**EFS _White Base_, moored at Luna 2**

**September 20, UC 0079**

**1938 Hours (L2T)**

Eight military policemen formed a human barricade to prevent entry and exit from the living section of the _White Base_. As things stood, they were doing the job they were all tasked with and it wasn't a drill.

"Char is coming!" cried Amuro. "The Gundam! He's after the Gundam!" The boy tried his hardest, but the blockade of men wouldn't budge.

Amid this standoff, a pink-uniformed figure could briefly be seen sliding down the poles of a now-deactivated express shaft.

Sayla?

* * *

"Zeon knows about Operation V," said Wakkein, after sipping his coffee. "Jaburo is not going to be happy about this."

Three other officers had gathered in the admiral's office, two of which also had coffee in preparation for a long shift. They felt the same way.

"The civilian population has been seeing Zeeks under their beds at night since February," said Major Charles Kramer, seated on the sofa. "Many of them are convinced another Sydney's going to happen."

"Can you blame them?" William Hunter, the captain sitting next to Kramer asked. "After getting stomped flat at Loum, a lot of them think we can't win. Now that the Gundam is at least known to that Musai, you can expect that sooner or later, Zum City's going to try to replace the Zaku."

The monitor on the wall turned on. _"Commandant Wakkein!" _the lieutenant briskly announced. _"We've been hit! A Zeon ship is firing on us!"_

"The Musai?" asked Wakkein.

_"It's not confirmed, but it looks like it! It's cruiser class!"_

Captain Rick Archer, a swarthy-looking bald man with a thin beard and mustache was not happy about the news. "And to think we bailed them out…"

"Don't get worked up," said Wakkein, donning his cap. "Once threatened, they'll withdraw." He pressed a button on his console, calling the docking bay. "_Magellan_! Prepare to sortie!"

* * *

The EFS _Magellan_, the namesake of her line of battleships, was hurriedly being prepped for battle. Archer wasted no time getting to the bridge. After later finding out that they had obstructed the sinking of a Musai, he was flustered that the enemy wasn't repaying them the same courtesy.

As far as he was concerned, they were getting smashed.

_"Gate open,"_ control reported. _"Now free of the hold! Engines look good."_

"Control, we have reached turning point."

_"Roger! Now back up—ah!"_

Silence went over the bridge's loudspeakers for a moment. Was something wrong?

"Control! Control! We've turned and are entering the gate, okay?"

A new voice came over, different from what had been heard. _"Main gate is clear. Ahead, slow speed, and good hunting!"_

The battleship slowly eased forward, down the shaft out of Luna 2, guns charged and ready to go. But barely halfway out, fireballs blossomed all around the vessel, wedging her in the tunnel.

* * *

The fall of the _Magellan_ knocked out all the main power for that section of Luna 2. The eerie red light of the emergency lighting enveloped the docking bay as smoke and debris filled it. Federation soldiers scrambled to counteract the abrupt sabotage operation.

In the midst of the chaos, Char approached the "Trojan Horse" unmolested. Her hangars were open and unguarded.

He went in without a fight.

Toward the back, a familiar white mobile suit stood with its back against its slab. He'd fought it a few days ago and witnessed its remarkable firepower. If he were only in a position where he could capture it. The best he could do was the data.

Char flew up to the belly of the suit. The cockpit was already open. A glory-hungry rookie would have attempted to hijack the suit and promptly get shot down by the Feddies. He was able to look inside the driver's seat at all the screens and consoles within. It was hard to believe, but after everything Char had seen since Side 7, he was convinced that the Federation now had the upper hand in the arms race.

"Don't move! The laser gun on your belt, let go of it!"

The Comet faced his left. A young blonde woman in a women's Federation uniform was walking toward him on the gantry to the suit. She had a handgun waiting to be fired.

"Do as I say, or I'll shoot!" she ordered. "Raise your hands above your shoulders!"

Char paused for a second. She had a vague air of familiarity about her. He smirked. "A reserve soldier?"

"Didn't you hear me? I'll shoot you, really!"

Char complied. "Nicely done," he said, raising both hands to eye-level. "You're a brave one."

"Step down from there and stop the chatter!"

He descended from the lip of the cockpit. "That's the spirit, I guess the Federation isn't finished yet!"

The reservist still had her gun trained on Char. "Stop right there!" she barked "Don't come any closer and take off that helmet!"

"So you want to see the face of the reckless Zeon officer?" Char chuckled. "The one who led his men straight into the enemy base? Very well." The helmet of his normal suit came off, revealing a man with golden locks behind a vinyl mask. "How's that?"

"The mask, too!"

Char laughed again. "You sure ask a lot of me, my lady." The mask came off, revealing a dashing face.

The girl looked as if she had seen a grizzly homicide when she saw him, but her shock left her distracted enough for Char to kick a wrench on the ground at her wrist, disarming her.

Char lunged forward his would-be captor, taking her by her left wrist while still clutching his helmet. He came close to giving the reservist a kiss, but paused when he was less than a foot away. He looked into her deep blue eyes and a chill came over him. _Artesia?_

"Miss Sayla!"

Char's attention shifted toward the source of the voice: another reservist, a boy with rusty-looking hair brandishing a pipe. Pushing the girl away, he fired at the kid's impromptu weapon.

The shock of the shot broke the upper portion of the pipe and sent the boy flying back against the wall, slumping on the floor.

With the wannabe hero's charge soundly thwarted, the Comet put his mask and helmet back on.

He turned around to fly out of the hangar, looking back only once at that girl one more time.

A firefight had broken out between Char's commandos and the Luna 2 staff. Using the radio function on his helmet, he called out to his men. "Fire a signal flare, pull back!"

_"Shouldn't we destroy the enemy suit, Commander?"_

"Negative. We've done enough."

* * *

The mobile suit team never received a call to return to the ship after attacking the Papua. They did see the capture of the _White Base _by the _Magellan_ and had to follow both ships from a distance. It took a long time to catch up, but the flames erupting from one of the man-made tunnels into the asteroid gave them a clue they were getting warmer.

Ryu had been trying to raise the bridge over and over again, but eventually, he'd made contact. Bright was on the other end of the line, looking pretty ruffled. "So what's happening, Lieutenant?" Ryu asked, a bit awkwardly. "And where's Sayla?"

_"I'll explain later,"_ Bright told him. _"Now come back! There's a big job waiting for you!"  
_

* * *

From the VIP room in the sick bay, Wakkein stood with his arms folded as an assortment of humans, Guncannons, and Guntanks hustled to get the twisted hulk of the _Magellan _cleared out of the tunnel on the monitor as hospital equipment beeped and buzzed about him.

The admiral had egg on his face. Bright was completely in the right about that Musai earlier and his underlings' delusions of Zeon gratitude had been shattered.

Behind the admiral, hospital bed lay an older officer, all but static with the head of the bed cranked up.

"The _White Base_ should be ready to go in little more than twenty-four hours," said Wakkein. "My apologies, sir."

The stricken captain spoke with a gravelly tone, as if he'd been screaming all night the night before. "Commandant Wakkein."

"What is it Captain Paolo?"

"There's no need to defer to me like that," he said. "You outrank me. You're an admiral and I'm just a reserve officer called up for emergency duty. An old soldier."

"No," said Wakkein, humbly, "to me you're still my academy instructor, Captain. You trained me well."

"You were an excellent student," Paolo said, smiling weakly. "It was an honor to teach you. Head of your class."

"I should be flattered," said the commandant, "but I think I detect a note of sarcasm."

"Do you recall what I wrote in your final evaluation?" Paolo asked. "'Excels in both theory and in practice. However, his thinking can be too rigid'. Those youngsters to whom I've entrusted my ship have great ability. The new mobile suits will change the tide of battle, but that's not all. Only their kind of youthful power can change this world. There's one thing I keep thinking about."

"What's that?"

"What our generation has left for those youngsters. War and death, arrogance and sanctimony, the destruction of the God-given gifts of nature. It may be time for us to bow out… and make room for a new age."

Wakkein said nothing. He faced the monitor again. The twisted bow of the _Magellan_ was now sticking out of the space gate, pushed out by the two Guntanks. As the slipped further and further out into the vacuum, there was a loud, sustained beep from the apparatus.

A flatline.

* * *

The morning of September 21, UC 0079.

The guerilla attack on Luna 2 primarily yielded wounded once the madness abated, yet the guns of the space base signaled death.

The steel coffin of former _White Base_ captain and reserve officer Paolo Cassius was draped in the Earth Federation flag as a few hundred onlookers.

The _White Base_'s ragtag crew was among them.

"Bright," Mirai whispered. "About the refugees. Hardly any of them want to stay here."

Bright's voice was kept at the same volume as hers. "Can't blame them," he said. "After what just happened, Luna 2 just isn't safe."

Four officers inserted the flag-covered coffin into a larger space capsule, which was then sent out into space through a hatch on the wall.

A call to salute was ordered and Paolo's metal sarcophagus was jettisoned into space. "Taps" sounded as video of the capsule appeared on the large jumbotron of the assembly room, the sunlight glistening upon it.

* * *

"If I didn't know better," said Rosemary Prower, "I would have thought this storm was blowing in sideways." The rain outside was so thick that a hatchet would leave a mark in it and it had her pinned down inside Isabella Mongoose's house.

What was originally intended to be a brief stopover for the vixen was transformed into a prolonged visit between the two Councilwomen within private walls. Her attention was snared by a framed photo on the end table on her side of the sofa. A little purple-haired Mongoose wearing shiny black slippers, way too big for her, was in it. She had a silk scarf and a pair of oversized sunglasses on her face, worn crookedly. The only thing that fit the little girl was the diaper she had taped on.

Rosemary couldn't help but smile at the picture._ Izzy, you're so lucky to have seen Mina grow up. I wish I could have been with Miles._

Isabella entered the room, carrying a tray with two mugs of coffee, decaf.

"It's funny," said Rosemary. "After Knothole went up in smoke, it's a miracle that nanites can restore mementos and images."

Isabella concurred. "There's not a whole lot of people who want to boot out NICOLE anymore," she said. "Last I checked, only a quarter were still undecided about her."

"The king's lost a lot of favor, too," said the vixen. "He came in blowing his own horn, but after nanites went dormant his standing really petered out."

"Naugus lost my support, too," Izzy admitted. "Rotor and Cream saved the people at the concert, not him, and the people want Elias back, they say."

"So I've heard," said Rosemary, taking her mug. "Remember his reaction to when we voted to overturn NICOLE'S exile? His reaction to Acorns returning would make that look like a frolic in the sunshine."

"Have you noticed that nobody's seen the king in public lately?" asked Izzy, stroking her chin. "Why is Geoffrey taking up so many of his responsibilities lately?"

"The alibi is that he's sick," said Rosemary. "We ought to ask about his condition at the Saturday meeting." She sipped the coffee and looked out into the rain. "It's not just the king. Geoffrey's been acting odd since he disappeared, too."

Lighting flashed and an earsplitting thunderclap followed a second later, causing both ladies to wince.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

**Author's notes:**

\+ As established in earlier chapters, and in Universal Century media, the time in between the Antarctic Treaty and the Side 7 attack was primarily an arms race: Zeon developed strongholds in space with A Baoa Qu, Solomon, and additional fortifications at the lunar city of Granada while the Federation toiled to rebuild its devastated space fleet and play catch-up with the Zeon mobile suit program. With Zeon overrunning roughly half of the Earth's surface and having forced an entire O'Neill cylinder onto Australia, I could only imagine that the attitude of civilian life on either side of the One Year War wasn't too far removed from that of the Cold War. The American citizen was led to believe that the Soviet Union was way ahead of them in intellect, technology, and munitions, that toppling a Communist government was akin to unscrambling an egg and that it would all end in either the whole world falling to Soviet-style socialism or atomic Armageddon. Many people would have seen the peaceful resolution of the late Eighties and early Nineties as ASB back then. Nobody imagined that both sides were equally scared of the other.

\+ The prelude to the chapter is a translation of part of the lyrics to "Once Upon A December" in the Russian dub of Don Bluth's _Anastasia _(1997). The song for some reason always made me think of Sayla.

\+ In the portion of the _Origin _manga this chapter was derived from there was a strange sequence where Bright and several other arrested _White Base_ crew escape their cells after the destruction of the Magellan knocked out the power. It was deemed a bit too silly, especially the parts where Bright struggles to slide the door open and screams when he sees armed Federation soldiers charge toward his group (they were really going to fight the intruders).

\+ SonicEvan has been, once again, indispensable when it came to the stuff with Rosemary and Isabella. Truth be told, I was a bit iffy about the recreation of objects and images after Knothole got torched.


	13. Sonic and Sally: Blood in the Oil

**Sand Blast City, Sand-Blasters HQ**

**September 21, UC 0079**

**0029 Hours, PDT  
**

* * *

Though much of Sand Blast had gone to sleep, Jack Rabbit stood by himself before a wide window, brooding. His boys were still licking their wounds after the latest episode of their feud with the Baron. A moment of calm. An uneasy one.

Waiting to see if the DEL would make a move was the worst part. The EMP Beacons would be enough to prevent a ground assault, but there was always the possibility of a ranged attack. Addressing such a situation at the moment would be stretch.

The door to the office hissed open. The noise of footsteps filled the air, accompanied by a somewhat deep rasp: "Not exactly a convenient time for an appointment."

Jack turned to look at his guest. It was a mole with metallic-grey fur, white muzzle, and a pink nose. He wore boots, a bandolier, and sported a pair of goggles. His eyes didn't match; the left was bright green and the right an icy blue. It could be said that he had a cold, "whatever" demeanor about him.

"I take it that you're the one they call Death From Below?" asked Jack.

"Yes," said the mole, coldly. "From what I've been told, you can't handle a single DEL chapter."

"Don't start with me," said Jack. "After Flex and Jitters stabbed us in the back and wrecked our shit, I am not going to hit the Baron again head-on."

"So you went for a merc. Not surprising. What's the job?"

* * *

With the passage of time, the blackness of night gave way to bright morning. One could easily make out the rugged badlands and metallic towers among them.

The Oil Ocean Refinery, headquarters of the Great Desert Chapter of the Dark Egg Legion. Despite the name, it was too far inland and unconnected to any body of seawater. Instead, its name derived from the large lake of crude oil it was constructed on. As things stood, this base was in a constant state of war with Sand Blast City. Some time ago, it had suffered damage from an incident involving two Freedom Fighters, but by now, most of it had been repaired.

In a strange twist of fate, the chapter Grandmaster was shaking hands with a blue hedgehog who was officially an enemy. "Y'all don't know how much I prefer not seeing the princess there as a robot," he said.

"I feel the same way, Baron," said Sonic. "It was a hell of a time getting her back and I can only imagine how pissed off Eggman could have been."

"It's odd," said Beauregard, "there's really been no communication from his end the past couple of days."

"We were a bit worried about his being a no-show ourselves," the boy admitted. "We were almost certain the Death Egg would have been coming our way after we got Sal back, but there hasn't been a peep from home."

"But if things are like that, what're you doing way out here again?"

"Bunnie," said Sally. "You're really the only lead we have. If she came here, she's probably told you already."

"About what happened to that D'Coolette boy?" Beau asked, knowingly. "Yeah, she told me all about it."

"Is she still here, Baron?"

"She is."

* * *

Blood oozed from the neck and mouth of a legionized doe, lifeless and slumped against a large steel drum. Her eyes had been replaced by a visor to enhance vision. Her Legion robe had been procured by her killer.

Since Julian Kintobor's putsch, this sort of thing was second nature to him. With an enemy uniform now his, he just had to complete his new ensemble: a pair of silver bowl-like devices to go on his ears. A good enough disguise to help him pass as a Legionnaire, but they had a different purpose. "Set frequency. One-two-zero-eight-eight. Come in, Jack Rabbit, do you read?"

A few seconds passed before a response came. _"I read you, Reaper. What's the status?"_

"Insertion successful," said the hitman, raising the cowl. "Proceeding to second phase."

Beauregard, Sally, and Sonic travelled by elevator to the top of the Medical Building. The doors hissed open, revealing a hallway with a long, single-panel window the length of the room on the right with a big view of the large body of oil outside.

The trio noted a figure toward the other end of the hallway gazing out into the bright morning sky, as if something were on her mind: a gold-furred rabbit with long hair. The opening of the elevator caught her attention, but she couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the occupants. "S-Sally-girl?"

"Bunnie!"

The two comrades rushed toward one another and each wrapped her arms around the other in a happy, even tearful, reunion.

"You've been deroboticized," said Bunnie. "How—?"

"After you left, the Freedom Fighters were split into two groups," Sally explained. "Sonic led a party to find Eggman and recapture me. If it wasn't for him…"

Sonic noticed his friend as well. When she had left New Mobotropolis, her legs and left arm were flesh, fur, and bone. Now those portions were shiny metal, similar to those she had gained during Robotnik's half-successful attempt at roboticizing her. The difference aside from the new look of her cybernetics was the fact that her hip area was still organic, unlike how it was before Naugus restored her. "Bunnie, you… have robot limbs again," he said. "Did you get legionized?"

Bunnie grimly looked at her robotic left hand. "After what happened to Antoine, I ain't gonna let anyone else I love get hurt on my watch."

"Well, yeah, I get that," said Sonic, completely feeling her, "but those Legion parts make you a bomb. There hasn't been a peep out of Eggman, but if he found out about this, it would play right into his hands."

"Pretty much told Buns the same thing," said Beau. "She wouldn't budge."

"Bunnie," Sally said, trying her best to keep from breaking down, "it was my fault all this happened. Eggman tried to roboticize the whole world and I had to turn turn his machine on myself to stop it. I… might have been involved in the explosion that injured Antoine." A hand came upon the princess' shoulder, a metallic one.

"Don't blame yourself," said Beau. "I saw you in action as a robot. There was no conscience at all. The Doctor doesn't give a crap about life, just victory at any cost."

"We're going to make damn sure that there's not going to be any more Antoines," Sonic added. "We chased the Death Egg all around Mobius trying to get Sal back. We finally boarded the thing at the North Pole, but…"

"What happened?" asked Bunnie.

"It was when we finally recaptured Sally," said Sonic. "During the fight, Eggman must have panicked and started another Genesis Wave. That messed up space-time and formed a pocket universe between ours and another. He was trying to rewrite reality as he saw fit. I used Chaos Control to try to fix everything, but he screwed with my work at the last second. Everything seemed to be back to normal at first, but then we started noticing cities that didn't exist before pop up, land and water in different places."

"That light during Buns' surgery," said Beau. "That was the Doctor?"

"Bingo," said Sonic, "and this knot's only going to get more tangled. Those cities I brought up? _Human _cities. I've counted their fingers, they ain't Overlanders."

"But how can there be so many humans?" asked Bunnie. "They're all in Station Square or in Yurish. Ain't this still Mobius?"

"It's Mobius, alright," Sonic confirmed, "but let's just say it's an older make and model. Remember the Xorda and how they said it used to be called Earth? Because Eggman was such a sore loser, we've been composited with Mobius in the past... before the Xorda spammed it with Gene Bombs. How far back, I don't know, but there's this thing called Zeon that's running this place. They sound like bad business and if Eggman tries to strike an alliance with them, it'll be a world of trouble."

Beau stroked his chin, "First time I'd ever heard of anything called Zeon…". Before he could continue, though, the buzzing of his commlink gained his attention. "What is it?"

_"There's an emergency in the prison block, the power generator is offline. The high-voltage floors are out of commission and the cell doors are unlocked."_

"Get every man you can manage to that area and lock it down," the Baron ordered, as a siren began blaring in the distance. "I don't want a one of them getting out." He hung up with a growl. "Jack again, no doubt. Thought Tilly's brother spanked them hard enough that Sand Blast would lay off for a spell…"

"Tilly?" Sally asked.

"Matilda," Beau explained. "A little Mercian girl who got kicked out with the rest of us. Just met her brother for the first time since she was a little shaver, him and that Squirrel boy he was with."

"Squirrel?" said Sonic. "Wait, you met Mighty and Ray?"

"Yeah. She got banged up during the last fight with the Sand-Basters and is still recovering from her wounds."

"Uncle Beau," said Bunnie, "let me help. I can fight."

"No, Buns," said the Baron. "You're still weak from the surgery. You fighting would be a real stupid move. Besides, y'all got yourself into a heap of trouble just by coming here."

"Then I'll help," said Sonic.

"I appreciate the offer," said Beau "but keep out of it."

Sonic looked as if he'd been punched alongside the jaw when he'd heard this. "But that… I can't let anything that asshole Jack did slide!"

"I don't like him either," said Sally, "but right now the most we can do is protect Bunnie."

The hedgehog snarled. If he could get involved, this intruder, whoever it is, would be sent packing by the count of ten. Knowing Sally, she would have probably told him that doing so would constitute aiding the enemy. But now, the Sand Blasters had gone after Mighty and Ray; leniency was out of the cards.

* * *

California Base: a massive network of naval and aerospace installations, twenty in all, stretching along the coast from San Diego to the San Francisco Bay. Prior to the war, this amalgam was home to the Earth Federation's largest military shipyards, but as of March 13, it had fallen firmly under Zeon's thumb.

When he wasn't lounging around his collection of upscale homes across the United States, Garma Zabi would often be here surveying his portion of the Earth invasion. At this time, things were going pretty slowly, allowing the young commissar to record a video message.

The lights on the camera before him blinked red three times before finally going green.

He was on. "In about two months," he said, "I will return to Zeon. But before then, I'll make sure to have an exploit to my name, father. I don't want our people to laugh at me, saying I only got promoted to General or Admiral because I'm your son. I look forward to seeing you again."

The recording ended there.

Just as Garma finished, a shrill beep came over the small monitor on his desk. He was being paged. "Yes?"

_"Major Jeanne Ionescu. Commissar, the 19__th__ Dopp Division has detected a large mass of oil above ground near the Mexican border. Coordinates 32.5, -113.1."_

"Are you certain about this, Major?" Garma asked.

_"We're sending the recon photo to you right now, sir," _said the officer. _"Ever since that white-out a few days back, there's been a series of reports about undocumented locations."_

"You have a point. It's a pity that satellite photography has been impossible since the war started, so I'll have to take reports like this into consideration." _Would that… Eggman know anything about this?_

She continued. _"We've also received reports of… a small city within the Grand Canyon."_

"How funny," Garma remarked. "A walled city with a castle randomly appeared in Shenandoah Valley. Notre Dame Base sent an aerial of it and we've begun drawing up further investigations of the area. Notify Phoenix Base, Captain Sablin's going to be quite busy."

* * *

Klaxons blared throughout the refinery. Robed Legionnaires rushed about, many of which were armed, ready in case they came across the intruder. An automated voice blared across the loudspeaker: _"Warning! Fire in Administrative Building 1! Warning! Fire in Administrative Building 1!"_

The procession of DEL mooks was eventually divided as one of their own emerged from a sub-hallway, nursing a wound in his right side and stumbling about as if he had to make a bad bowel movement. Six gathered around their comrade, revealed to be a male prairie dog with an open gash on his forehead.

He spoke in heavy breaths. "The intruder… dressed like us… get away…!"

No sooner had he uttered "get away" did a large fireball erupt from within his body and consume the surrounding Legionnaires.

Only one survived the blast, a Pomeranian with metal legs. Half-dead, he could only claw away from the blast amid the fire-retardant foam the sprinklers were spraying.

Another Legionnaire silently approached the mess of blood, foam, bodies, and tissue. He came directly for the dog, giving him not a hand, but a foot. The boot came down hard on the wounded grunt with all the might of its wearer. There wasn't a hint of pity in his voice and he and only one question: "Where is Beauregard?"

* * *

Transport trucks for supplies and wounded personnel were being loaded in a basement garage. Among them were Beauregard and a young green-shelled Armadillo in a wheelchair. With things going south so fast—the intruder, the prison break, the hit-and-run attacks—it wasn't safe for weakened friendlies. They would have to be moved to the auxiliary base while able-bodied Legionnaires would have to deal with the crisis.

"I'm sorry Matilda," said Beauregard. "I can't come with you."

"Baron," the girl said, with a bit of characteristic flatness, "you're not that strong either. Shouldn't you come?"

"You know I'm the Grandmaster of this Chapter," he said. "I ain't gonna leave my men."

"But you might…" she paused. A twinge of fear came over her heart. Many who'd seen Tilly before could say she seemingly had no emotion, but that seemed to have changed after meeting the brother she never knew about.

"I know," said Beau. "Listen here, Matilda. A lot of us prolly ain't getting outta here alive. I want you to promise me something. You listening?"

Matilda's were dead set on the Baron's face.

"Don't let 'em kill you," he said. "All y'all need to get to the Red Rock outpost."

"What about Mrs. D'Coolette? Will she come?"

D'Coolette. She referred to Bunnie by her surname. Beau frowned a little when she said this. "She prolly ain't gonna be with us much longer, now that Sonic's here," he told her. "Tilly, I took care of you like you were my own kid. I ain't going to always be there anymore. Y'all need to be strong and keep your chin up. You gotta make it outta this. Promise me."

"I promise."

The Baron wrapped his arms around the young Mercian. It was a for only a moment, but it was so final for him. Like watching a loved one leave and perhaps never return.

The truck had to move, regardless. Rolling forward and up the incline for the ground-level. Beau stood alone, watching the truck drive away and the gate close behind it.

Silence followed. Then, hushed footsteps whose echo became louder as the seconds ticked by.

Finally, it was quiet again. It was soon broken by a smooth, raspy voice, like an evil twin of a movie trailer narrator who wants to see everyone in it die. "Hello, Baron."


	14. Sonic and Sally: Cross of Sand

**Oil Ocean Refinery**

**September 21, UC 0079**

**1133 Hours (PDT)  
**

* * *

The stranger was only about thirty feet away from Beauregard. First his hood came off and then the rest of his purloined robe.

"Sapper," said Beau. "I'm not completely surprised that you woulda been able to put this place into a frenzy. Francis told me about you years ago."

"Your brother taught me well," said the intruder. "The fires, the bombs, the jailbreak, just a bunch of distractions."

"So you could kill me?" the Baron asked, knowingly.

"Nothing personal, it's just a job."

"A Patriot gone mercenary? If that don't beat all."

"There aren't that many of us Patriots left, Baron," the Mole told him. "Francis swallowed a bomb and blew himself up rather than allow himself to be roboticized. Can't blame him, though."

"I knew Jack was in rough shape," said Beau, "but to think the protégé of my own brother would take a bounty on me. Life's funny that way."

"I'm not going to kill you right here," Sapper told him. "I have a lot of respect for you, Baron. You can bet that Jack would be pissed about what I'm going to do: I'm giving you a chance." He tossed over a laser pistol. "We're going to play a little game. The rules are simple. Neither of us leaves the refinery. One stands, the other falls. You need to find and kill me before I kill you. I have my weapons and wits on my side, you've got your men and your traps."

Beau smirked, but was a bit sullen about the situation. The Patriots were gone, but he as much of one as ever. "Fair deal."

They shook on it.

"Happy hunting, Beauregard." No sooner had Sapper let go did he drop a pair of pill-sized capsules on the ground. They instantly generated a think blanket of smoke upon impact which filled the garage.

Sapper had vanished in the smokescreen, leaving the Grandmaster all alone with the gun. He spoke into his commlink: "Y'all be on the lookout for a Mole on the ground level and first floor basement! He's the intruder!"

* * *

Shenandoah Valley, the home to a large stone ring containing a small city within it as of three days ago.

Reports of such anomalies had been circulating among the numerous sectors under Zeon occupation: the lake of oil in the American southwest, this walled city, and a large crater in Australia, some two hundred kilometers north of the scar from Operation British. One small task force was now given the job of looking into one of these.

Three Wappa hoverbikes were parked on an overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway, with a clear view of the city. "I wonder how they manage," said Lieutenant Carlos Bella. "It doesn't appear that the town has a connection to any road." He whipped the pair of electrobinoculars he'd brought with him and zoomed in on the structure. Some kind of dome covered it: transparent and azure. Behind the bluish field, the officer could make out a large concentration of trees and some structures beyond them. The architecture was not of human origin.

One underling, a lanky corporal, spoke. "Should we risk moving in closer?"

"We'll need to be careful if we do, Sheheen," said Bella. "Whoever lives there might be hostile."

"Lieutenant Bella, look at this!" A wide-eyed private called out from the edge of the ridge. He came running toward his two comrades holding, of all things, an unsheathed broadsword. "Look what I found, a souvenir," he said triumphantly. "Probably an old Indian relic."

"Really?" Bella asked skeptically. "I've never heard of North American Indians who used swords, let alone steel."

"I found it right over here," said the private, leading them toward the edge.

The way down was a bit steep, and rocky as well. What Bella didn't understand was how an "Indian" sword could have been so close to a major road and remain in such pristine condition without being found sooner. Amid the team's inspection, something none of them saw coming occurred.

A short outburst followed by something short with brown fur tumble downhill from behind a dead tree trunk. It appeared to be the size of a child, but it had traits like some kind of cat and had something in its hand.

"What the hell's that?" said the lieutenant. "Sheheen! Grant! Keep your distance, that thing's got some kind of gun!" He fired a few rounds from his SMG in an attempt to get the thing to stop.

The creature panicked. Instinctively, it didn't even try to fight, but run away. In doing so, he tripped over a rock and was nabbed by Bella.

A struggle ensued, one which was broken when an arrow zipped by and got lodged in the lieutenant's lower back. His grip was broken and he fell on his stomach. He was still alive, but struggling to move. "Help!" he cried "Grant! Sheheen!" Neither got to him first and the last thing he would see would be a pink-furred enemy with long brown hair aiming a strange model of handgun in his face.

Sheheen fired a shot into the woods at another one of the attacking creatures, this one taking cover behind some brush. Something with red hair and a bushy tail. Whatever it was, he couldn't get a clear shot.

It wouldn't matter. A shout of "Hey, over here!" grabbed the corporal's attention. He only laid eyes on a metallic figure in the air on his two. No sooner had his attention shifted did his right arm get blasted off at the shoulder by the distractor's hand-mounted laser. One more shot and it would be over for him.

Battered and weak, Private Grant scrambled back to the Wappas. Even though he was trying to high-tail it out of the area, the fact that the engine somehow wasn't turning over (despite running like clockwork less than an hour ago) wrote off any attempt of escape. With who knows how many of those things were hiding downhill, there was no guarantee he could get to one of the others in time.

Instead, he radioed a distress. "Private Arthur Grant, Christiansburg Base. Operation Recon O747 has failed. Bella… dead. Ambush by… furred… aliens. Shenandoah Anomaly is…" The grunt froze when, at the corner of his eye, a short brown-furred humanoid with red hair was poised less than ten feet away on his right. He wore a black jumpsuit and had a crossbow, whose arrow was aimed right at his face. _Oh, God help me.  
_

* * *

Bunnie could only watch and listen as alarms blared and silver saucers took to the air. Her uncle had just issued a code red to everyone one the premises. For the better half of the last hour, she was doing good on the Baron's wishes in regard to staying out of the fight, but with everything disintegrating all about her, it was getting more difficult.

The same could be said for Sonic. Beau had told him to keep out as well, despite him wanting to help.

"We need to get out of here," said Sally.

"But I can't let that guy kill Uncle Beau," Bunnie told her. "I don't care if he's an enemy, he's all I got left."

"I'm no fan of just sitting around," said Sonic "but I've gotta agree with Beau and Sal. You're too weak to do anything right now and you letting that assassin kill you's not... THAT'S IT!"

The outburst spooked Sally. "W-What?"

"Listen, Sal," Sonic explained, "the guy out there blasting the crap out of everything is a hired gun. He's not part of the Sand Blasters. If I try to stop him, I won't necessarily be aiding the DEL. Beau lives, Jack gets pissed, and the party crasher goes to the emergency room. I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner."

"That… actually makes sense," Sally said, piecing everything together.

"You girls get outta here," he told them. "Evacuation should still be going on." Out the door he went.

Two silver Legion saucers patrolled the skyline of the refinery. Now that the intruder was identified as a Mole, they knew what to look for. What the crew of neither of the expected was for one of them to be struck from six o'clock and blasted out of the sky. Luckily, it crashed into the desert and not the oil.

The surviving craft turned about. The remains of a vapor trail pointed to the blast's source at the top of Administrative Building 2: a lone figure just ducking into the stairwell as it started firing off a laser.

* * *

Stowing away his grenade launcher, Sapper hurried down the stairs until he reached the top floor. Nobody was in the hallway, allowing him to reach the elevator unmolested.

Pressing "down", he hugged the wall, handblaster at the ready for any Legion grunts that may come out.

The door opened. Nobody was in the elevator.

He slipped in and pressed "1". As if on instinct, when the cab started moving, pushed open the emergency hatch in the ceiling.

Down, down, down went the elevator. Several Legion mooks had taken the bait, thinking Sapper was still inside. They were ready to lock and load.

As the door closed behind them, the hitman slipped a little present through the hatch. He could hear at least one or two laser blasts fruitlessly trying to hit him, followed by a chorus of agonizing groans and screams that quickly went quiet.

Soon, the elevator came to a complete stop. Time for the gas mask.

Dropping through the hatch, Sapper landed inside the cab. Toxic vapor had enveloped the elevator and was now wafting outside. The Legionnaire within were all strewn about, faces permanently frozen in panic and pain. He left the bodies behind, not even giving them a passing glance.

* * *

Adrenaline was surging through old Beauregard. The cat-and-mouse game between him and Sapper had been going on for the better portion of an hour, but with his life at stake now, every second was a gift.

Warehouse No. 3 was the current theater for the aging Grandmaster. He stood flush against a steel crate, gun in hand, hoping to not be caught off guard. Nobody, to his knowledge, was in there,

"Baron!"

Beau's attention was caught by the approaching Hedgehog. He quickly shushed the boy. "Be quiet, he could be in here right now. Why are you still here? You need to get!"

"I didn't stay to help you," said Sonic. "I'm trying to find that hitman, too."

"Boy, that fella's dangerous," Beau told him. "He used to be a Patriot."

"Patriot? You don't mean those guerilla fighters from Robotnik War I? I thought they died."

"Damn straight," Beau whispered. "He's one of the last ones. After what all he did to this place are you willing to doubt me? I just hope Buns and the princess got outta here."

"Don't worry," said Sonic. "I told them. If they aren't already gone, they should be high tailing it right—."

"Shh!"

Sonic stopped talking. Near-total silence followed, emphasis on "near". There was a soft thumping coming from the other side of the wall of metal boxes.

The two hugged the side of the wall, stealthily trying to get to the other side undetected.

Beau found the source: the feet of a Legionnaire probing the same warehouse for Sapper. Peaking a little more, he found something else: a cardboard box where it wasn't supposed to be. If that didn't give it away, one of the flaps on the underside was sticking out. _You lose, boy! _Three bolts blazed from the barrel of the blaster, hitting the box.

The occupant groaned.

With a swift kick, the Baron revealed the person inside: one of his underlings, a Mouse with a metal plate over his right eye. _Clint! But if that's not Sapper then—!_

PI-SOO!

The bolt from the shooter's gun hit Beau in his right side. He fell against the metal container, sliding down as whatever remained of his balance dissipated.

* * *

"You bastard!" Seething with anger, Sonic charged at the robed assassin at full tilt, pinning him up against a container.

"Sonic the Hedgehog," the Mole said, thoroughly amused. "I would have preferred meeting the renowned Freedom Fighter in a more peaceful situation, but I really didn't see this coming."

The young hero freed up a hand and balled it up, ready to pound the merc with all the coldness that was just shown to the Baron. A puff of smoke emerged from the ground, forcing Sonic to cough and lose his grip on the shooter. "You dick! Where… are you!?"

"Nothing personal," said the killer, now invisible amid the smokescreen. "It was just a job Jack Rabbit hired me to do. I iced an Eggman toady, you and that princess of yours ought to be grateful."

Sonic couldn't believe his ears. "Grateful?!" he said in disbelief. "Sal and I finally got to see Bunnie again after all this time, and now I have to tell her that her uncle's been shot!"

"Ah, that's right... the Baron's little niece. I, however, am grateful to you for being here. Killing the Hero of Mobius by itself is a guaranteed triple to the hiring fee. Throw murderous rage into the equation? Quadruple, easy!"

A twinge of fear vibrated deep within Sonic. He couldn't see the guy at all, but he talked as if he could find him. "I'll show you what good your worthless money will do when I drag you back to Jack by the scruff of your neck!"

"Unfortunately, you're the one who will have your head brought back to Jack... gonna need some evidence, after all. Nothing personal."

"I've heard enough of this garbage!" Sonic growled. After trying, and failing, to find the intruder before he got to Beau, he wasn't going to take it another minute. "If you won't put up or shut up, I'll stomp you flat right now!"

"Sorry, Blue," said the hitman, "but brute force isn't my style. You have to find me."

Something hit Sonic across the temple, banging against a container as it fell. After all that happened, it didn't take long for him to figure out what it was. _Oh, shit!_ On instinct, he looked over to where Beau had slumped down at and lifted him onto his shoulders quickly.

In true Sonic fashion, the two were out of the warehouse. A powerful firestorm mushroomed within shortly thereafter.

* * *

A pillar of smoke billowed from the storage block of the refinery, safely away from the oil lake.

Sonic stopped for a second to look back at the once-proud DEL stronghold. He and Bunnie had messed it up something good in the past, but this time is was a one-man show. But now, they couldn't pin the blame on him for the damage like last time. One hired gun for the Sand-Blasters managed all that. If Eggman found out about this, he would have been furious, yet he was still MIA.

Beau groaned as Sonic eased him onto the ground. "Just leave me here, son," he told him. "This ain't your battle to win or lose."

"And let the only family my friend has left die?" said Sonic. "I ain't running a charity here, gramps. You're going back to be with Bunnie whether you like it or not."

Ailing cyborg chuckled weakly. "You sure got a hard head, boy."

Amid the rush, Sonic was quick to realize something. Beau was missing his left ear. The only explanation he had was that the Mole severed during his smokescreen trash-talkfest. "Who the hell was that?" Sonic wondered. "Nobody could find him."

"Sapper," said Beau, his voice a bit hoarse. "Buns' pa made him what he is now. You ain't gonna beat him head on."

"Pa? Bunnie's Dad was a Patriot, too?"

"My reckless kid brother, and his wife... both of them defected to the Overlanders, and got themselves killed. Lulumae and I looked after poor Buns while she was growing up. When we thought she was old enough to learn the truth, we told her... but she refused to believe her parents were traitors. So she done run off on her own, got captured by some SwatBots, and the rest is history," the Grandmaster rasped.

"We saved her… kinda," said Sonic. It all went back to that cartoonish little time, before Fiona, Mina, Naugus, NICOLE, or even Knuckles! They weren't even aware of Scourge's existence at that point! He'd reminisced about that part of his life a few nights ago, but the Baron had brought it up again. It was as if the universe was aware that it had changed and desperately wanted to go back to then.

"Life's silly," said Beau. "I remember telling Buns that she'd have to fight me again as a Freedom Fighter. I guess I was wrong there."

"Don't die on me, Beau!"

"When you see Buns again, Sonic," the Baron said in a whisper, "you tell her that I said she's become a damn fine woman… and that boy she married… Heh! Now maybe I'm finally starting to understand why my brother made the choice he did. Our philosophies may differ from the D'Coolettes', but if he makes my little Buns happy... they can't be all bad."

"Beau… Beau? BEAU!"

No response.

Tears filled Sonic's eyes and with a frustrated snarl, he punched the ground.

* * *

The refinery was now deserted. Perhaps it was divine intervention that a stray spark in the madness didn't set off the oil.

Only one person remained at the facility. Jack Rabbit's hired gun, Sapper the Mole.

After taking down Beauregard and killing somewhere in the neighborhood of one-third to half of the personnel stationed there, he needed a break. Taking a cigarette out of a pack of Regals and lighting it, he gazed out into the early afternoon sky. _Sonic escaped my bomb. The tales of his speed aren't hearsay after all. _

Cigs weren't the only thing the merc had. On the ground before him lay a severed rabbit's ear; gold-furred, limp, and cold. It was his evidence that the Grandmaster of the Great Desert Chapter was no more. Sonic carried him off the site, too. He could have followed and finished him, but kicking a man when he was down was about as much his style as attacking from twelve o'clock at full tilt.

He took a puff. _Even if the gunshot didn't kill the Baron instantly, it's not likely that he survived. I've been a soldier since I was thirteen, killing scores of run-of-the-mill schmoes doesn't faze me. _

Another trinket from today, one much less grizzly that Beau's ear, was a long cobalt quill, plucked from Sonic as the smokescreen took effect.

Sapper smiled, with a hint of melancholy about him as he stared at the strand. _I'll tell Jack about Sonic. Perhaps I can squeeze a few extra Mobiums out of him if I embellish the details a little. Regardless, when he finds out, it's his problem.  
_

* * *

Red Rock: a town of adobe some twenty miles southwest of Oil Ocean that often had to double as a substitute headquarters for the Great Desert Chapter. The surviving Legionnaires and two ex-Freedom Fighters had fallen back to the town hours ago.

The last light of the day was fading as a lone Hedgehog approached the trench surrounding the town—a depression so wide that any unlucky Sand-Blaster tank (or any vehicle for that matter) that got close enough to fall in and struggle to escape. For him, though, it wasn't much of a problem. After the hectic day at the refinery, he pretty much dragged his feet getting there.

The retractable bridge had been extended. Sonic didn't mind it; he could have easily jumped the gap with a good running start, but he just wasn't in the mood for speed right now.

A throng of personnel, including young Matilda, had come out to meet him. Bunnie and Sally were among them.

Not a single word was uttered. If the look of defeat across Sonic's face didn't say enough, the ownerless hat in his hand did enough.

The surviving Rabbot took the hat and stared at it with eyes as wide as the sky for what felt like forever. Shock gave way to sorrow. Bunnie melted down, dropping to her knees and violently sobbing as she buried her face in the crown.

Sonic couldn't say anything. All he could do was wrap his arms around her.

Sally joined him without a thought.

Finally, Tilly, too. As if a miracle of biology, tears flowed from her eyes.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES

\+ Once more, SonicEvan has been most gracious in advising me with details regarding the geopolitics of Mobius. He even went a step beyond with this chapter, actually helping with some of Beauregard and Sapper's dialogue toward the end and general QC, with a little bit of history for them tacked on. A genuine thanks and a good health to him.

\+ The skirmish between the Secret Freedom Fighters and the Zeons homages the Arapaho National Forest scene in RED DAWN (1984). The differences being the presence of non-Human combatants, differing weapons and tech, and an escape being thwarted by Larry Lynx's ability to create bad luck.

\+ Bunnie's deceased father was named after Francis Marion, Revolutionary War guerilla fighter operating in South Carolina following the American defeat at the Battle of Camden.

\+ The title of this chapter is named for the credits theme of the first installment of the _Mobile Suit Gundam_ compilation movie trilogy, "Cross of Sand" (砂の十字架). Movie I essentially covers the first third of the story, so if you don't want anything spoiled don't seek it out.

Speaking of _Gundam_,we'll be back to Amuro and the _White Base_ soon.


	15. Bunnie D'Coolette: Revenge

**Sand Blast City, Sand-Blasters HQ**

**September 21, UC 0079**

**2050 Hours (PDT)  
**

* * *

Under most circumstances, a severed ear on your desk was far from a flattering gift. For Jack Rabbit, though, it was a trophy. After a seemingly endless game of back-and-forth between him and Beauregard Rabbot, the Grandmaster was finally dead.

Already weary from the long day, Sapper didn't feel like putting up with any of the guy's giddiness right now and had no regrets about being a wet blanket. "After today," he said "my bill's gone up. 35,000 Mobiums."

"Thirty-five!?" a gobsmacked Jack exclaimed. "Reaper, the deal was 25,000!"

"It was," the Mole confirmed. "But somebody dropped in during the job. A guy called Sonic."

Jack's face soured further upon hearing this.

"I take it you've met him before?"

"He was our hero," said Jack, embittered "and after all the tributes we showed him, what does he do? Helps a buncha Robians."

"Why would he do that?" Sapper asked, sensing it was only a fraction of the story.

He wouldn't get it, though. An intruder alert was sounded throughout the city.

"Sounds like some dumbass from the Legion tried to sneak in here," said Jack. "Beacons have probably fried him something good by now."

* * *

"Ten fingers," Harvey Who noted, surveying the captive. "Most likely human."

"When he wakes up," said Elias, "he's probably going to be surprised to still be alive. Sedative should be worn off by now."

The "visitor" in question was the last survivor of a small party of trespassers Nicole had detected in the area. He'd seemed to have been trying to get away, but a combination of minor wounds and small tranquilizer dart from Lyco had made him unconscious for several hours. If Elias had given just one more inch and let his arrow fly, Harvey would really have been at his throat.

The trespasser woke up, discovering himself bound to a chair. A number of eyes were fixed on him, belonging to figures he'd run in with that day. Thankfully, they weren't trying to kill him right now.

"You've come to," said Harvey. "We've taken the liberty of addressing your wounds following your capture."

"You can talk?" said the captive. "You look like a bunch of animals, how can that be? Are you aliens or just a top-secret Feddie project?"

"Neither," said Elias, "did you guys knock off the Overlanders for their fashion?"

"Standard Zeon normal suit," he shot back.

Silver raised an eyebrow at the utterance of the word "Zeon". It was vaguely familiar.

Harvey approached the man stared right in his eyes. "Harvey Who, former head of Acorn Secret Intelligence," he said, as an introduction. "Who are you?"

"Grant, Arthur John of the Principality of Zeon, Bunch 2 New Moscow. Private, Zeon Earth Expeditionary Forces, Christiansburg garrison."

"Earth?" Silver said, astonished. "That light from the other day… this is the past?"

"What are you going on about?" asked the Zeon. "Even if I were able to get out of here, I'd be tried for treason for being captured."

"This planet we know as Mobius went by the name of Earth thousands of years ago," Elias explained. "That flash from the other day could have had Chaos Control properties and potentially rewound the flow of time."

"Time travel, too?" the guest asked. "Boy, the KSA is going to love hearing this. Then again, they could believe me after the distress call earlier."

"W-What are you talking about?" asked Larry.

"We've been doing periodic fly-overs in Dopps and Lugguns ever since the anomaly appeared in the valley. Today was the first manned mission to survey it."

"Anomaly?" asked Leeta.

"The walled city," said Grant. "After the flash, objects and places which weren't originally there emerged out of nowhere. After Bella and Sheheen died today, you can bet that our guys are going to solve this mystery once and for all."

Larry bit his lip worriedly. It was a bit hard to tell if his ability to create bad luck was going to get these strangers to bust out the big guns or if it only affected that vehicle of his so he could be captured. Maybe a little of both?

"If your contacting your comrades didn't remove civility from the table," said Harvey, "your earlier aggression did. I think we need a little more information; would you mind telling us what a 'bunch' is?"

"A space colony," said Grant. "O'Neill cylinders built for human habitation placed in orbit around the planet. A cluster of bunches create what's termed a Side. As each Side was completed it was given a number: Side 1, Side 2, Side 3, and so on. Sides 1, 2, 4, and 5 were destroyed in the carnage of January, and Side 6 has declared itself neutral."

"And Side 3?"

"That's Zeon," said Grant. "Under the leadership of Zeon Zum Deikun, we broke away from the Earth Federation during the Revolution of 0058. He died of a heart attack ten years later and power was ceded to Degwin Zabi, his hand-picked successor."

"What happened in January?"

"The war started. In about a month, the fighting killed half the human species. The signing of the Antarctic Treaty prohibits further usage of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. Everything has to be fought by conventional means now: spacecraft, armor, mobile suits, that sort of stuff."

"What's a mobile suit?"

"A humanoid weapon developed by the Zeon military. With the advent of Minovsky physics, things like long-range missiles have become less effective." He laughed. "It was thanks to our Zakus that we were able to smash the Federation spacy so thoroughly."

"And what is the purpose of the Earth Expeditionary Force?"

"After our success in January, we were able to launch an invasion of the Earth itself. Zeon controls roughly half surface, including this continent, North America. One of my higher-ups remarked that at the rate things are going now, the Feddies should surrender no later than Spring."

"What makes you say that?"

"Their fleet still hasn't recovered from Loum and they have no mobile weapons that can match our Zakus. Luna II's the only bit of space they have left, for God's sake! You're much smaller and weaker than the Feddies, ousting you would take a day at most. That UFO that tried to fight our boys in Canada went down in a couple of hours."

"UFO?"

"I wasn't part of the group, but the news circulated from Notre Dame Base. A large, egg-shaped weapon was shot down at Fundy National Park."

"The Death Egg?" said Silver. "You defeated Dr. Eggman?"

"Commissar Garma did," said Grant. "He's probably been taken prisoner, I shouldn't wonder."

A spell of silence overtook the room. The SFF looked at one another ominously. They all knew about the Xorda, but to think that life on the planet had been nearly wiped out before that! Zeon meant business. The fact that they took down Eggman was proof enough.

The probe continued on into the night.

* * *

A jeep slowly rolled through the desert outside Sand Blast. Apart from its headlights, light projected from a searchlight wielded by the occupant in the passenger seat, a black Cat with a white belly and muzzle. This was the second pass around the area the beacon had gone off in, but nothing was turning up.

"Still n-n-no sign of the tre-tre-tres-the intruder, Friz?" asked the driver at the wheel, a Mobian Pig with a stutter.

"It doethn't make any thenth," the cat lisped. "Thomething had to have tripped that beacon." He picked up the CB radio on the console. "Frith calling Jack! Thtill thearching Thector Five with Mel. No thign of Robian activity."

_"You kidding!?"_ Jack replied. _"Those beacons were programmed to go off whenever a Legion goon shows up. Keep looking."_

"F-Fr-Friz, l-look!" Mel was pointing ahead. Someone, a Rabbit, was lying in the sand. Dainty, long-haired, pink leotard, metallic-limbed. They did get one!

The two Sand Blasters parked and jumped out of the jeep, guns in hand.

"You're under arretht!" said Friz. "You're coming with us."

The duo carried their captive to the vehicle and began to make for the city.

* * *

"What are you thinking, Bunnie?"

Across sand and rough terrain with a flashlight in hand, Sonic dashed forward.

The madness at Oil Ocean had left the Chapter devastated and leaderless. Right now, they were keeping a low profile.

Bunnie, on the other hand, had barreled out of Red Rock. It wasn't hard to figure out her motive, but she was still not up to 100%.

Sonic's path reached a precipice: the edge of what Mobius knew as the Great Canyon. A fuzzy, orange blob could be seen in the distance.

Light.

The light of Sand Blast.

* * *

The intercom on Jack's desk buzzed and the voice of an underling could be heard. _"Frith to Jack, Frith to Jack. We've found the vithitor. A rabbit with thyber parth."_

Jack smiled. "This day just keeps getting better," he remarked. It buzzed again; another call was coming in. "Yes?"

_"Jack, it's Avery. Jones and I had to deal with an intruder in Sector 10."_

"Another one?" Jack asked. "Mel and Friz just notified me that they'd nabbed Beau's broad of a niece. What about you?"

_"A plane of some sort over the Widow's Bend. Weird-looking one, too. About 100% sure it was the Legion's."_

"Any survivors?"

_"None that we could find. If the rocket didn't get him, the crash did."_

Jack was a little disappointed by the reveal, but it didn't get him down. "Well, I can let that slide," he told him. "Especially after all the winning today. As you were." The Sand-Blaster leader switched back to the previous channel. "Sorry about that, Doc, that was Avery. Had a guest of his own. Bring her back here and we can have a little chat."

No response from Friz or Mel.

"Friz? Are you there?" Jack asked. He raised his voice, thinking something was up. "Mel? Friz? Where are you?"

He did get a reply, but it was neither of his underlings. _"Howdy, Jack. Sorry I ain't one of your boys, but they're out to pasture now."_

"Bullshit!" Jack's joy dissolved in a microsecond. "How can you even move? I **know** those beacons wrecked your circuits!"

"_Anti-EMP coating,"_ said Bunnie, a little smugly. _"One last present from Uncle Beau before you had him killed. Now It's my turn to whoop you. See you real soon!"_ Static followed, as if the line had been severed.

Jack pounded his desk, frustrated. There was finally a cloud to rain on his parade.

Sapper didn't show a sign of emotion. He just whipped out a cigarette and stuck it in his mouth. "You know, Jack," he said "this isn't unforeseen. You got what you wanted, the Baron's dead. Yet you expected the Desert Chapter to roll over and die with him. Did you even consider the possibility of retaliation?"

Jack, looking pained, tried to cover his hide. "Reaper, you didn't just kill Beau, you took out a load of his equipment and a bunch of his men!"

"Yet I told you that Sonic was there," Sapper countered. "Even though he's with Acorn, he held quite a bit esteem for the Baron, as I did. You're also aware of his niece, but you didn't consider her trying to avenge him. I know you're missing an eye, but I would have thought you'd have the foresight to make a contingency plan." Striking up his lighter, he held the flame to the tip of the cig until it started glowing.

"W-We'll hit her hard!" said Jack.

"With what, your tanks?" Sapper asked, letting out a puff of smoke. "Even with armor you got nowhere."

"There's you!"

Sapper laughed. "As I said before: 'I'm not a charity'. What are you willing to pay?"

Embarrassed and over a barrel, Jack relented. "I'll give you another 10,000."

* * *

A strict curfew was imposed on all civilians within Zeon-occupied zones apart from certain exceptions. Pre-war nocturnal activities became rarer and rarer for the average guy on the street, but for the occupying forces and upper crust, things were different.

Lombardy was an Italian supper club in San Diego. Normally, the ritzy establishment was jumping with West Coast blue-bloods, but the main patrons tonight were mostly uniformed ZEEF officers, about fifty in all. A smorgasbord of dishes had been laid out: pizza, lasagna, spaghetti, ravioli, you name it.

Garma Zabi, the young commissar of the ZEEF North American division, was seated at a round booth table in a corner with three other men. The waiter approached with a tray bearing stromboli, enough to satisfy all four seated. "Thank you," he said, before turning his attention back to his underlings. "So, anyway, Eggman and that Snively claim they're not part of the Federation and keep blabbing on about this Mobius nonsense and places that don't even exist! This morning, he brought up something about humanoid animals."

"You think we should hook him up with the El Paso garrison?" asked the major to his right. "A few guys over there claimed to have seen a big hedgehog or something walking around on two legs."

Laughter blossomed among the foursome. Garma proceeded to get a slice of the stromboli onto his plate, but noticed an approaching lieutenant with a vanilla folder under his arm. "What is it, Darota?"

"Commissar," said the lieutenant "we have a development from the UFO investigation. This was discovered inside the wreck." Opening the folder, he handed him a pair of photos.

Garma looked at one. It was of a gemstone of some kind; diamond-cut, a very deep blue. The next image showed one of their soldiers holding the same object. It was sort of big, its crown about five-to-six inches in diameter, but could be carried in the hands of the average adult. "Very pretty," he remarked, "but this sort of thing is more M'Quve's speed."

"There's more," said Darota. "Airbase Mojave has reported the loss of a Luggun in the vicinity of the Colorado River Anomaly some fifteen-to-twenty minutes ago. A similar situation occurred at the Shenandoah Valley. Christiansburg and Mojave request clearance for engagement."

"It seems our aliens threw the first punch," Garma said, smirking. "Contact Sablin. Mojave has clearance to move. Also, arrange another meeting with Eggman. I want to have to have a little talk about these 'Chaos Emeralds' of his before he goes to Zeon."

* * *

Main Street glittered with lights and neon despite a revenge-minded ex-Freedom Fighter's rampage. Sonic turned up late to the party, but he was able to lay eyes on some of the leftovers from one of Bunnie's skirmishes: several wrecked jeeps, smoking craters in the road, and several lifeless Sand-Blasters.

A voice from the wreckage: "Damn bitch… damn… bitch…!"

Sonic rushed over to the survivor, now trying to claw his way out of the mess, and knelt. It was Shift E. Wolf, one of Jack's inner circle. "Where's Bunnie?" Sonic demanded.

The Hedgehog wouldn't get a response, the survivor expired three seconds after asking. He'd come too late. He squeezed his eyes shut in a show of disappointment. Back to square one.

As Sonic rose back up, a sense of calm overtook his psyche. Not peace of mind, but an uneasy kind. Like on the morning of a final exam for a class you're barely getting by in: you studied hard for it, and you're afraid of failing regardless.

In Sonic's case, it wasn't any exam. In fact, not even he knew what it was. All he knew was that it was coming.

He had to find Bunnie before it was too late.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

\+ In keeping with the theme of the Sand Blasters being Looney Tunes references, the original characters of Mel and Friz are based on Porky and Sylvester, respectively. Mel is named for Mel Blanc, who voiced the bulk of the characters, and Friz is named for director Friz Freleng.

_A big thanks not only to SonicEvan, but also HyperionGM for helping me out with feedback when I got stuck._

**_EDIT 6/9/19 - Correction: "Tech E. Wolf" corrected to "Shift E. Wolf"._**


	16. The Curtain Falls on Sand Blast City

**Red Rock**

**September 21, UC 0079**

**2129 Hours (PDT)**

* * *

Tilly had been staring at the adobe ceiling in her room ever since Sonic showed up with the bad news. Her recovery from the previous Sand Blaster attack had been offset by Beauregard's death. Static in her bed, the little Armadillo found herself blinking back tears for what felt like the hundredth time that night.

A knock at the door. It was that Sally girl who'd escaped Oil Ocean with them. "Matilda? May I come in?"

"Yes," she told her.

The Chipmunk entered and took a seat at Tilly's bedside. "I'm very sorry about the Baron."

"He was all I had," said Tilly. "I never even knew I'd had a family before I met Mighty."

_Another life destroyed by Robotnik_, Sally thought. "You mean you never knew your Mom or Dad?"

"The Baron was the closest thing to a father I ever had," she said. "My parents died a long time ago."

"I know how you feel," said Sally. "When I was a little girl, I lost my parents to Robotnik's takeover. I got them back eventually, but then Eggman came to Mobius and we're still having to fight him. Even before then, I met other people I've grown to love, like Bunnie and Sonic. You have Mighty, too."

"I don't even know him," Tilly admitted.

"I'm sure you will in time," Sally assured her.

Tilly sighed. As kind as the princess' words were, the pain was as sharp as ever. "I'm worried about what's going to happen now that the Baron's gone," she said. "What if the Sand Blasters come back?"

"I don't know if they'd even try," said Sally. "Bunnie's the Baron's niece and she's been hurting as much as you. But she ran off to Sand Blast a little while ago."

"Revenge?"

"No doubt. But her decision's rash. Sonic had to go after her."

* * *

In the command center of the Sand Blasters' headquarters, Jack Rabbit received a most unwelcome revelation: _"Spy-Eye ZG-35,"_ an electronic voice buzzed over a speaker. _"Sonic the Hedgehog spotted on Slott Avenue, heading north."_

Jack scowled. "Terrific. First that Bunnie bimbo and now him!" He faced the Duck seated at a nearby console. "Clampett, patch me in to Reaper." Picking up a corded phone nearby, he waited for a response.

It came. _"How's it going, Jack?"_

"Keep an eye out, Reaper, Sonic's showed up."

Sapper laughed. _"The deal was 10,000 for Beau's niece,"_ he reminded the Sand Blaster leader. _"Sonic wasn't part of the picture."_

"Fine, I'll throw in another 5,000 if you kill him, too," Jack grumbled.

_"I'll think about it."_

Before anything could be done, however, a klaxon blared and the word "Intruder" repeated over the loudspeakers.

Jack rushed to the console and pulled up the camera nearest to the breach. A Legionized Rabbit in a cowboy hat was slowly making her way down a hallway. For some reason though, she was leaning against the wall. "She's wounded," said Jack, a little optimistically. "We have a chance!"

* * *

Bunnie wasn't wounded, but she felt like it. Having just received new robotic limbs, she threw herself into a fight half-recovered. Despite this, she did quite a bit of damage to Jack's bootlickers.

Now the pain from the surgery was starting up once again and at the worst possible time: she'd just busted into Jack's headquarters.

"Look what we have here," someone said from behind.

Bunnie looked to see the Avery, Jack's muscle, approaching.

"Seems somebody learned from her mistake last time," the Bear said, cracking his knuckles. "How many of your own friendlies have you killed tonight? Haven't heard from Shift."

"Y'all'd better bug off," said Bunnie, panting. "I've got a score to settle with Jack."

Avery chuckled. "Don't know about Jack," he said, "but I can help you."

The robot arm felt so heavy now. Bunnie could only move it slowly, giving the hulking bear ample time to get close to her.

He gave a strong punch to the cyborg's stomach, sending her rolling away a little.

In a desperate attempt at defense, Bunnie used her organic arm to raise up its cybernetic partner. "Get back," said Bunnie. "Y'all'd better get back!"

"What's this? Scared?" Avery said, sort of mockingly. "After breaking the Freedom Fighter's no-killing rule, you suddenly want mercy."

"Y'all killed my uncle."

"No we didn't. That was Reaper's handiwork. You can get mad at him… if you can find him."

POP! Bunnie's robotic fist took flight, smashing into Avery's chest, sending him sliding toward the hole she'd made coming in. It landed on the ground, beeping for a second before returning to the socket it was launched from.

"You BITCH!" he came charging for Bunnie, hands clasped for a monstrous haymaker.

In an act of desperation, the beleaguered cyborg unsheathed the progressive blade housed in the wrist of her robot arm: a foot-long steel blade. That was all that she was planning on, but something happened that Bunnie didn't intend: something caused the jets in her legs to jet out a small burst propelling her forward toward the incoming Bear. She squeezed her eyes shut, expecting to get hammered.

Avery never hit Bunnie, though she was expecting him to.

The cyborg cracked her eyes to peek. The blade had penetrated the Sand Blaster, but not fatally.

The blade retracted from the bloody wound it had created. It was in an extremely personal space.

The Bear trembled in pain; his eyes wide in shock. He dropped to his knees and covered his crotch with his hands as he fell forward. Blood oozed through his fingers. "My balls, my balls… you fucking bitch!" He so much pain, he couldn't move aside from his head. The only thing he could see was his former prey looming over him.

This wasn't the result Bunnie was looking for, but it was better than having her back smashed by the now-immobile Sand Blaster. Again, she aimed her cybernetic arm at the helpless foe. A small red dot appeared on the Bear's cheek. She wasn't in any mood for words. Not a witty one-liner or an apology for what she was planning to do. Just a blank, emotionless face. None of these so-called "friendlies" needed any sympathy.

"Bunnie, _stop_!"

The dot on Avery's face blinked out of existence. The Rabbit looked behind her, towards the new, familiar party.

Sonic had found her and he wasn't happy. "Don't you dare make another move," he told her.

"I'm gonna do this, Sonic," she said. "I'm ending this feud once and for all."

"By killing everyone you come across?"

"It's Jack's fault Uncle Beau's dead," she responded. "They're all gonna get it."

"Bunnie, look," said Sonic "I know you're hurting over what happened to your uncle, but killing Jack and his goons won't bring him back, and you're not gonna do anyone any favors if you die too. How do you think Antoine would react if he woke up and found out you'd gotten yourself killed?"

After what felt like an entire year, Bunnie lowered her arm and hung her head. Sonic had won the argument, Avery (and by extension Sand Blast itself) had suffered enough.

"Listen, we have to get out this place ASAP," Sonic told her. "This whole city—!"

"You ain't going nowhere!" The two ex-Freedom Fighters' attention was snatched by the appearance of Jack further down the hallway. In his right hand, he had a device that seemed to be an old camcorder with two rabbit-ear antennae. It was aimed squarely at them. "You did a mighty fine job wrecking my city, doll. Now don't move an inch and I'll think about throwing you two in a cell."

Sonic scoffed. "To think that I used to be your hero! Then again, it wouldn't be that different from the first time I'd paid a visit."

"You helped the DEL in the past, doc," Jack told him, "and your friend there's iced a bunch of my boys. Both of you are damaged goods."

"Nice gizmo, Jack," Sonic said in regard to the weapon he held. "Rob the toy section of a pharmacy to get it?"

"Prototype Anti-Legion Gun," said Jack. "Something Shift and Avery were working on. Won't have any effect on you, Sonic, but it'll make your little friend over there go boom!" He noticed its co-creator in a fetal position on the floor as a pool of blood slowly expanded. Whipping out his commlink, he called a med team to the ground floor.

"Jack, I'm not playing around," said Sonic. "Something is coming and it's gonna blow this joint to Kingdom Come!"

"Oh, really? What?"

"I don't know," Sonic admitted "but it's going to wipe this place off the map! You need to get everyone here out to safety right now!"

Jack laughed. "Something's going to destroy Sand Blast and you don't know what? Sounds like somebody couldn't think out their story."

The commlink buzzed. _"Jack, it's Jolt. Airborne visitors in Sector 8."_

"It can't be the Chapter," he said. "Not after today."

Muffled explosions could be heard from the other end. _"These are bombers! You—!"_ Static.

"Still think I'm lying, Jack!?" said Sonic, angrily. "What matters the most to you? Your stupid vendetta or other people's lives?"

Jack wasn't responding. Paralyzed with shock, he could only stare at the commlink, seemingly unaware that he had let his anti-Legion weapon slip from his grip.

He didn't even notice the medical team that rushed in to collect the wounded Avery.

"Well, Jack?" asked Sonic. There was still no response. "C'mon, Bunnie," he told his friend, "we need to bolt, right now!"

They were off.

In the right frame of mind, Jack would have pulled the trigger and set off Bunnie's bombs without a second thought. But now his mind was blown.

Tex and Shift were dead, Avery wounded, low on manpower and equipment, not to mention the dome was still down.

The distant rumble was a reminder for him that Sand Blast was doomed.

* * *

Sonic carried Bunnie in his arms, in the same bridal manner he'd held Sally on their way westward. Spotlights still burned and neon still flashed, but the light the city emitted often caught the hull of large purple aircraft. "Heard the dude on the line say something about bombers," he told her. "Those are probably them."

"The blasting must be on the city limits," Bunnie suggested. "What if their boys on the ground got stopped by the beacons?"

"Makes sense," said the Hedgehog.

Out of the back of one of these large planes came a humanoid shape that landed further away. Another one came down closer to the pair's position, and then a third landed further up the street Sonic and Bunnie were on.

The closest could be seen the most clearly of all: it was green and had a single horn on its head. A mechanical construct, it had only one pink eye and it brandished some kind of gun. To Sonic, this seemed like the descendent of stuff like Robotnik's SwatBots and ComBots from back in the day, but the size of the thing would have made more sense for that one universe where the Freedom Fighters were giant monsters. For a moment, he was thinking another DEL unit had showed up to avenge Beau, but then he caught sight of a familiar insignia emblazoned on the shield mounted on its right shoulder. "Zeon!"

"Zeon? Sonic, you mean that…?"

"Bunnie," he interrupted, as the machine began firing off its weapon "if we don't get the hell out of this place right now, we're dead!"

Sonic took off, fleeing toward the outskirts of Sand Blast, weaving his way down streets and through alleys and avoiding panicked civilians also trying to escape.

The vicinity of the city was pocked with blast craters and a few tanks, frozen in place by a beacon. They were behind the enemy lines now, but weren't sure if the enemy knew about them.

When Sonic finally came to a stop, it was on a bluff just across the river. The view wasn't as spectacular as it would have been from atop the Great Canyon, but they could see enough of the carnage going on.

It would seem weird for them to be bombing vacant desert, but given the status of that tank they'd passed on the way out, the objective was obvious: knock out the beacons before sending more ground machinery in. Those large machine guns rang out within Sand Blast itself. "Well, Bunnie," said Sonic, "I think you got your wish. I don't think Jack's going to make it at this rate."

She wouldn't argue about that, but the matter left her hollow. "What have I done?" she said.

"I'm not going to lie, Bunnie," said Sonic, "you really fucked up. You shouldn't have tried to run off in your condition, feelings or no feelings."

"I killed people, mutilated them!" she said, breaking down. "How am I any different than Jack, or even Eggman?"

Sonic held his friend close. He recalled what Scourge said to him not all that long ago: _"I know why you hate me. It's that all it takes is one bad day, and you'd be just like me." _He wasn't wrong. After everything Bunnie had gone through in the recent past, she was just hanging on a thread. Having her uncle die what the pair of scissors that cut it. "Bunnie," he said "you're still alive. Listen, you're strong and you're better than either of them. None of us are going to desert you over something like, as heinous as it is. You just need to keep moving forward." He looked back at Sand Blast: a terminal city on its last night as what one could barely call a defense force engaged in an uphill struggle to put those giant automatons down. Despite his skills, Sonic wasn't even sure he could stop all of this by himself. "We need to get back to Red Rock," he said reluctantly. "I'm just hoping they don't find it."

* * *

Much of the damage to Luna II's docking bay had been rectified, though it was still obvious it had seen its share of action recently. Two vessels, a _Pegasus_-class battleship and a _Salamis_-class cruiser, would be moving any minute.

From the control room overlooking the cavernous shipyard, Wakkein and several other officers watched as the two ships below were primed to go.

A voice from the intercom: _"This is _Salamis. _Launch prep complete!"_

"Roger," the technician replied. "Gate fully clear. Proceed to main gate. _White Base _is on standby. Output rising."

The next voice to be heard was Bright's: _"We have our orders from Federation command. We're bound for Jaburo!"_

"We wish you a safe trip back to Jaburo," Wakkein replied. "Godspeed!"

The Salamis moved first, her engines roaring like an otherworldly beast and slowly eased toward the sub-gate which led to a tunnel out of the asteroid.

Once she was through, it was _White Base_'s turn to head out.

In time, both vessels were spaceborne again. Time of departure, 0808 Greenwich Time on September 22, UC 0079.

"Sir, do you think they'll have any chance of making it?" asked a lieutenant to Wakkein's right.

"The brass have no idea what it's like out here on the front," Wakkein admitted. "Unfortunately, the most I can do is wish them luck. In that regard, all I can say is 'who knows'."

"A single cruiser escort is a joke," the tech remarked. "What is headquarters thinking?"

"These are cruel times, aren't they?" the commandant lamented. "War brings out the worst in everyone. God forbid that _White Base_ is captured or sunk, Robinson. The very fate of the Federation rests on that ship."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:  
**  
WOOOOF! This chapter was a pain to write, with the opening between Sally and Tilly being the heavyweight with the Sonic-Bunnie-Avery scene coming in a close second. Thankfully, some input from SonicEvan and HyperionGM helped me survive. In all honesty, the parts on Luna II were perhaps the easiest here.

The idea for the anti-Legion Gun actually came from Evan, who suggested a Roboticizer Gun that could affect Mobians who weren't given immunity from the Bem and potentially destroy anything robotic. I thought a weapon that could set off Legion bombs would be better-suited for his guys, may they rest in peace. Its design was influenced by a laser gun Eggman used to destroy Tails' watch he was using to fiddle around with to help Sonic defeat Metal Sonic.

As for Sapper's whereabouts… well, just you wait.


	17. Sonic and Co: Sapper's Tragedy

**EFS **_**White Base**_**, bound for Earth**

**September 22, UC 0079**

**0844 Hours (GMT)  
**

* * *

_"Attention all hands!"_ Bright announced over the loudspeaker. _"We have departed Luna II. We will reach low orbit over Earth in approximately thirty hours."_

Amuro was finishing his breakfast as the announcement was made. It wasn't anything fancy: a sausage biscuit, a Granny Smith apple, scrambled eggs, and grape juice. The mess hall was far from a five-star dining establishment as well. An alchemy of surviving crew, civilian recruits, and refugees had gathered around to eat. It was like a cross between a family reunion and a school cafeteria. Chatter filled the air. Some of the refugees were excited to be going back to Earth in their lifetimes, others made it known that they wanted to go back to Side 7. An impossibility, as far as he was concerned. After all the damage done to the bunch the other day, it was doubtful that any trace of oxygen remained in it.

Amuro dumped his scraps and left the tray for cleaning. He proceeded out the room his destination, the starboard hangar. Outwardly, nothing seemed to be bothering him. In the back of his mind, though, his thoughts were running around in a maelstrom. Thoughts about the battle in the colony and all the mayhem surrounding it. Thoughts about his struggle against that red Zaku the same day.

Char's Zaku.

Was the guy who nearly shot him in the hangar Char?

How did he even know Char was coming to attack the base? As if all the planets aligned and he hit the bull's-eye dead center with a blindfold on, with the weirdest, most alien sensation he'd ever felt up to that point to boot.

The ambiance of beams and machine guns over a speaker greeted Amuro as the elevator opened. Someone was using the simulator. He also noticed a familiar little kid in Daisy Dukes hunkered against the wall, pouting. "What are you doing down here, Kikka?"

"Katz and Letz are playing that space game," said Kikka, obviously steamed "and won't let me have a turn."

"Space game?" Amuro asked, kind of confused. _Could she mean the simulator?_

In a nearby alcove, he laid eyes on Katz standing on the left-hand side of the chair in the simulator. Letz was at the controls, trying to shoot down a Zaku. Unfortunately for him, he struggled to lock onto the mobile suit. It all ended with a direct hit from a bazooka.

"Dang it!" Letz growled. "I almost had him!"

"Let me try again," said Katz.

"C'mon, Katz! It'll just be the same thing again!"

"What are you boys up to?" Amuro asked.

"Playing this video game," Katz answered. "Letz can't get past the first enemy."

"Dude, you always fly into an asteroid as soon as you start," Letz countered.

"Let me get a turn," said Kikka.

"Kikka, you're too little," both boys told her.

"Guys, guys, guys, knock it off," said Amuro. "This isn't a video game, it's a cockpit simulator we use it for training purposes."

"Training purposes?" Letz asked.

"You boys come out here and I'll tell you," he told them. _I'd love to show you instead, but Bright would probably stomp me flat, that old sourpuss._

Katz and Letz did so.

Kneeling down, Amuro looked squarely at the two. "You know those big green metal soldiers who attacked Side 7? We have our own machines we use to fight them. The simulator helps teach people how to fly them."

Another party was nearby. "There you boys are!" It was Fraw Bow. "Amuro, what are you doing bringing the kids down here? You know the hangars are off-limits to civilians."

"I didn't bring them down here," he told her. "I'd just finished breakfast and was going to do a few more odds and ends with the Gundam. They were already down here playing around on the sim."

"You boys shouldn't have wandered down here," she said. "Only soldiers can be down in this area. Mr. Bright specifically told all non-fighters to stay in the living block. That means you guys. What if you'd gone into the hangar and got hurt?"

"Uh, Fraw, what happened to Kikka?" Amuro asked.

Two of the Three Musketeers were accounted for, but one of them wasn't present.

Gunfire and explosions resumed. Someone was running the sim. While everyone's backs were turned, little Kikka had climbed into the chair which had earlier been traded between the two boys. She was finally getting her turn.

Where Letz couldn't get past a Zaku and Katz a mere asteroid, Kikka was the only member of the trio to score a kill.

The two boys were dumbfounded by the sight.

"Kikka!" Fraw's voice snapped the little girl back into reality. "Come on, Kikka, we need to get kitchen. We're going to have a bunch of trays to wash."

* * *

Four figures—a Hedgehog, a Chipmunk, a cyborg Rabbit, and an Armadillo—stood in the desert, near a refinery built around an above-ground lake of petrol which had been left derelict after the hectic events of the previous day. A mound of sand and rocks stood before them, with a steel girder serving as a marker. It was the final resting place of the former Grandmaster of the Great Desert Chapter of the DEL.

Bunnie knelt before the mound and lowered her head. "Uncle Beau," she said, "thank you for everything. I wish I could hang around longer, but I really need to go home."

Sonic said nothing. Nobody, not even Sally, needed to know about the carnage she wreaked on Sand Blast the night before. He'd grilled her enough and rubbing salt to this wound wasn't a smart move. Especially now.

"It's been a rough couple of days," said Sally. "I'd have to say we'd need to head back to Red Rock and rest up before going back to Acorn tomorrow."

"I really can't guarantee that, Sal," said Sonic. "After seeing those guys turn Sand Blast into a smoking ruin, I'm kind of scared they might come after them. After the red-ass beat down Sapper gave them yesterday, they probably won't fare even remotely as well."

"Did somebody call me?" A fifth person was among them and his voice brought Sonic's blood to a boil. He was seated on a rock, Indian-style with his hands folded, watching the four mourners. It was old "Death From Below".

Sonic sneered upon seeing the Mole and began revving up his legs for a dash. He was so mad he could have strangled him. The Hedgehog dove forward, hands ready to grab him, but he wouldn't.

Sapper quickly jumped backwards and his assailant hit the sand face-first.

The Hedgehog was left spitting out the mud unintentionally created by his saliva.

"I know you're not happy to see me," said the assassin, "but I thought I might find you here."

"Why the hell would you come?" said Sonic "Did you come to say you're sorry about killing Beau? Well you ought to apologize to _her_, but even that won't cut it!"

Sapper took a look at the "her" in question. He smiled, intrigued.

"You… You're the one who killed Uncle Beau?" Bunnie asked, her bloodlust from last night slowly returning.

Sally had to run over to her friend and try to hold her back.

"Bunnie, chill," Sonic told her. "I'll be the one to pound this douchebag flush against the ground."

"I didn't come to fight any of you," Sapper told them. "Even though Jack placed a death mark on her head as well as yours, Sonic, the deal was voided last night. The only money I ever got from him was for the Baron."

"Let me guess, 'it was just a job'," Sonic said in a somewhat mocking tone.

"What do you mean by your deal being voided?" Sally asked.

"I'm going to be direct with you," the Mole explained. "I'm a former Patriot, now a mercenary. Jack Rabbit hired me to kill Baron Rabbot. After I'd succeeded in doing so, his niece attacked Sand Blast City. In desperation, Jack paid me to kill her and then Sonic when he showed up. I had almost caught up with them when an unidentified force attacked the city. At first, I thought they were DEL reinforcements called in to avenge the Baron, but they weren't."

Sonic scoffed. "We already know most of that," he said. "I was there, but what are you doing here?"

"Apart from telling you that Jack is dead and his hit died with him," he explained. "I came to see the daughter of the Patriot who trained the infamous 'Death From Below'. His name was Francis Rabbot."

An awkward silence followed and Bunnie was the first to break it. "That's… That's the name of my Pa!"

"Your Dad was a masterpiece of a soldier," the Mole told her. "My parents died early on in the Great War and he took me in when there was nowhere left for me to go. Taught me how to be strong, too. During the latter days of the Great War, he started up the Patriots and we hit Acorn hard deep behind their lines on numerous occasions."

These words, delivered as coldly as they were, made Sally shudder.

The Mole took note of the Chipmunk's reaction and her leer accompanying. "Well, well! Princess Sally Acorn! Small world, isn't it?" He noticed Sonic, too. He had a similar look. "I strike a nerve in you, too, Blue?"

"What happened to Pa?"

"His task force was sent on a sabotage operation in Mobotropolis just hours prior to Charlemagne's push against the city," said Sapper. "By that point, an Overlander named Julian Kintobor had defected to Acorn. He ultimately thwarted the mission and your father was killed in the crossfire. He was aware of Francis' assignment ahead of time and he betrayed them to Maximillian. You know what happened next. Kintobor screwed over both winner and loser, using the hellish process of roboticization to create mechanized slaves."

"My Uncle Chuck invented roboticization for medical reasons!" Sonic said in an offended tone. "My Dad got wounded by an Overlander and he would have died if it wasn't for him! Robotnik was the one who used it to ruin everyone's lives!"

Sapper wasn't fazed by the Hedgehog's defense. "I suppose your uncle was okay with everyone undergoing the process becoming mindless drones, or was that Kintobor, too?"

"It was!" said Sally. "At one point, Robotnik captured Sonic and roboticized him. He almost destroyed Knothole. Our friend Knuckles agreed to let us roboticize him in order to save it, and he didn't lose his senses."

"Knothole," Sapper uttered with a tone of contempt. "I know about the Knothole Freedom Fighters farting around in the Great Forest for ten years and getting little done. After Kintobor's Rebellion, the Patriots set up shop in Efrika and kept hitting him constantly."

"Then why was he wasting so much time on a bunch of kids playing in the woods instead of a bunch of salty old guerillas in the fringes?" Sonic said, sensing an opening to jab at.

"That was just our HQ," said the Mole. "We had agents in Efrika, Eurish, Soumerca, Downunda… wherever, whenever. The Nuclear Missile Base in the Southern Tundra? Duke Hosei took care of that. The destruction of the Combot Mk. II project? Taxan Irem. Who brought down the Red Czar, Kintobor's original Holoska Sub-Boss? Me. You all were the closest to him and I'm sure you had plenty of opportunities to take him down, or at least Snively. Did you not?"

Sonic struggled to reply. There was that one time he almost roboticized Robotnik with a tank during the original Combot incident, but other times it was him rubbing defeat in his face.

"I knew about all of that," said Sally. "The Patriots did their part in fighting Robotnik, but Snively was the one who finally killed him."

"But what about him? He was Kintobor's direct subordinate. Why did you spare him? And what about Dr. Eggman? When he was up against a corner, what did you do stamp him out? I'm pretty certain you've had such situations."

Sonic couldn't say anything. It wasn't just Robotnik he'd let off the hook too much, but Eggman as well. After Eggman levelled Knothole and everyone attacked the Egg Beater at once, they could have offed him right there, but they didn't and the war continued. Later on, he'd broken the doctor psychologically, reducing him to a babbling mess. Pity kept him from killing him there as well. Then he recovered, to some extent. He was aware of what he was doing, but had a blatant disregard for literally everyone. The World Roboticizer incident which caused the whole Mecha Sally ordeal was proof enough.

All because he didn't kill him.

"Snively may be cunning," Sally told him "but he's a coward. He'll support one person at one time and then defect as soon as things look bleak. Sonic?"

Sonic had fallen on his hands and knees in a state of shock. "I could have stopped it all…"

Seeing Sonic reduced to such a state wasn't something Bunnie and Sally were used to.

"You get it now?" asked Sapper, his inflection like cold steel. "My killing Beauregard wasn't simply for profit. He worked for Eggman. Yeah, he was like family to me, and I didn't want to shoot him, but he worked for the heir to the man who brought untold suffering to Mobius. I lost my family to the Great War as it started. I was only eight. _Eight_. When you three Freedom Fighters were still pissing yourselves on a regular basis, I had already seen hell itself and I've been at war ever since. It's not about the Baronies versus Acorn. It's Mobius versus Eggman. You aren't going to win by stealing pesticide bombs or challenging your enemy to some sort of athletic competition. The point of war is to kill your enemies."

"Beauregard didn't have a choice," said Sally, her eyes welling up with tears. Tears of frustration and yet pity. "They were all damaged goods to Jack. Would you kill them, too, after knowing that? Where would you draw the line? If you did kill Eggman and everyone who worked for him, what then? You'll be just as bad as him!"

Silence. Sally was still supporting the frail Bunnie, Tilly's mind was struggling to keep up with the debates and history lessons, Sonic catatonic, and Sapper staring down Sally.

"Eggman's death is the only one I would celebrate," Sapper stated. "A world no longer plagued by Julian Kintobor's ghost is my goal and I'll get it by any means necessary."

The noise of an aircraft could be heard. High above the grave site a lone green plane could be seen.

"Judging by the color of the thing, it's with the guys who visited Sand Blast last night," said Sapper. "I don't know what their plan's going to be, but I don't plan to stick around to find out. I'm leaving now. Remember everything I said, all of you, and take care of yourselves. If I ever cross paths with Eggman, I _will_ kill him." On that note, Sapper turned toward the ruins of the refinery and walked away, leaving three girls and a mentally-rocked Hedgehog behind.

* * *

The Saturday Council meeting seemed to go no differently than normal, save for the fact the Geoffrey was on the throne in place of Naugus. Little did anyone there realize that the Skunk was a nightmarish matryoshka doll containing their king and the three wizards comprising him.

The big topic of the moment was Eggman. Since the Mecha Sally incident, he hadn't been seen. But as much a Naugus was trying to listen in on the discussion, all noise seemed to wash out. Soon, all had gone silent. _Not again, _was the only thing going through his head.

The laughter of Suguna could be heard. _"My, my, my! Your prolonged tenure inside the Skunk is exacerbating the decay of his body."_

_"Indeed,"_ Nusgau chimed in, _"the question is whether or not you'll escape it or if you'll let the mutations bring your apprentice down with you."_

Naugus wouldn't dare respond. Not in front of the Council.

"Is something wrong, Geoffrey?" asked Arlo.

"At Council's permission," said Naugus, "may we adjourn for a thirty-minute recess?" _The AI. I need to speak to that accursed AI!_

Though a bit perplexed by the Skunk's move, they agreed.

Naugus was the first to leave the chamber. Most of the Council, however, remained behind, the new discussion being about him.

Naugus only got about halfway through the anteroom before veering to the right and slumping against the wall. Geoffrey's body was running out of steam. Next thing he knew, he was on his knees. After that, flat on the floor.

Finally, Agunus mocked him: _"The hour draws nearer."_

Everything went blurry and then black.

* * *

Sonic reclined on the adobe parapet of Beauregard's townhouse in Red Rock, torso against the wall and his eyes on the clear skies above. The building was the late Grandmaster's home outside of Oil Ocean, as well as Tilly's. If what Sapper said a while ago was any indication, it would probably go the way of Sand Blast.

Sapper. His words haunted the Hedgehog's mind like a phantom.

Brooding was more Shadow's specialty, but right now he couldn't avoid it.

Not that long ago, when Eggman was still a blithering wreck, Monkey Khan questioned why Sonic never just put the guy out of his misery. All the Hedgehog could say was "I just do what's right at the time", taking revenge just wasn't in him.

Sapper, though, seethed vengeance. He shot Beauregard without a second thought, and tried to blow him up as well. At that point, Sonic was willing to dismiss him as a sick, ruthless SOB who would literally kill for money. Even after he crashed the visitation, he didn't repudiate anything he did. When he said he'd kill Eggman, the Mole's tone of voice seemed to chill his blood. Under most circumstances, Mobians had a natural aversion to killing. The Paladin incident was a clear example of this in-born respect for life, but Sapper seemed to have lost it at some point.

Footsteps approached.

"Hey, Sal," said Sonic.

"I warned everyone about what you and Bunnie saw at Sand Blast last night," Sally told him, "but nobody's willing to leave Red Rock. I guess that since the Baron's dead and Eggman's disappeared, the Chapter feels rudderless."

"Wanting to make one last stand, huh?" Sonic remarked.

"They want us to take Matilda with us when we leave," she added.

"Can't blame them," said the Hedgehog. "With only fifty-something guys left against the kind of stuff I saw last night? Their odds are slim and none, and slim ain't around. You should have seen those giant machines of theirs, Sal. The only things we've ever come across that would have a chance of fighting them would be stuff like the Giant Borg, Giga-Bot Prime, and Car-Heem. What can _we _do to fight these guys?"

"Zeon seems to have a full-fledged military," said Sally. "I really don't think the tactics used in the first two Robotnik Wars and the Great War are going to do any good in light of all this."

"The Great War." Sonic sighed when he heard the term. "I never imagined what a bum deal Sapper had with his life; I'd assumed he was just a greedy rent-a-murderer. Even still, I can't believe he'd kill somebody and think nothing of it. It's not normal."

"War changes people," the Chipmunk said, solemnly. "Sapper was orphaned and grew up in an atmosphere of death and violence. It's not too surprising that he turned out the way he did."

"I agree. I went through the same kind of stuff," Sonic admitted "but whether it was Robotnik or Eggman, I could never off either when they were down. Sapper would pull the trigger on either if he had the chance. He thinks we're soft because we don't."

Sally hummed to herself. The Mole's sermon definitely implied that.

"I keep asking myself if he's right."

The calm was broken by the sound of engines in the sky. Small green fighters and large purple bombers were flying overhead. They were here.

Fortunately, Sonic didn't see any of those green behemoths from last night fall yet. Instead, a trail of white puffs fell out of the larger aircraft, drifting down like flowers in a river. They all came down in the desert, here a column of red smoke from a flare wafted up from the sand. "Sal, get Tilly and Bunnie. We have to get out of here, **now**!"

* * *

A large, green egg-like vehicle rose speedily above Florida. Within a matter of minutes, the craft had escaped Earth's gravity. Apart from standard raw material and contraband the ZEEF had confiscated, it contained three particular items: two strange prisoners and a gemstone they had in their possession upon capture.

Snively peered out as the planet's curvature became more and more prominent.

"Still moping over Regina, Snively?" an embittered Eggman asked.

"You'd better watch what you say, dear uncle," he told him, indicating the guards outside. "If not, you won't have a chance at rebuilding your empire."

"Oh, I may be down," Eggman shot back, "but I'm not out. You plan on defecting to Zeon once we get there like you did with the Freedom Fighters?"

Somebody banged on the door. "You fellas had better pipe down," the man on the other side said. "Commissar Garma may have been able to tolerate your bickering, but I won't. It would be a damn shame if you never reach Zeon."

"'Zeon' this, 'Zeon' that! I've heard that name tossed around so much the past few days. Where is it anyway?" Eggman asked.

"The other side of the Moon," the guard answered. "The _Zozulya_ will dock with us in one hour and she'll transport you to A Baoa Qu. If you two can behave yourselves, we might find something for you to do after you get there."

Eggman frowned. _I'm liking these people less and less. _He moved to the window for a look at the planet that would eventually become Mobius. Soumerca and Northamer were connected and the Central Sea was much, much bigger. "It truly is a different world."

* * *

Another tough one, and once again I thank HyperionGM and SonicEvan for their support. Normally the _Gundam _bits are the easiest bits for me, but in this instance the situation was completely manufactured for this story. Given the heavy situations going down with Sonic and friends at the moment, we needed a little bit of levity and I thought of a cute little bit between him and the kids. Little did I know, it one head cut off of a hydra.

After that, the issue became the graveside debate between the Freedom Fighters and the Patriot. That gave way to Geoffrey-Naugus at the council meeting. Having little political background, I wasn't totally sure about how to go on about it and it ultimately ended with him collapsing. After that, it was Sonic contemplating Sapper's words and the battle between keeping it from going too emo. Finally, Eggman and Snively on their trip to Zeon.

**TRIVIA:**

\+ Duke Hosei is a name given to a Ryu Jose-equivalent in an FMV _Gundam_ game. Hosei, being a strange variant on his name's standard romanization.

\+ Most of the Patriots' exploits against Dr. Robotnik were influenced by the NES game _GI Joe: A Real American Hero_, which had a mission to destroy a Cobra ICBM base in Antarctica. The Combot Mk. II mission, was influenced by the Dark Trooper Project from the game FPS game _Star Wars: Dark Forces_.

\+ There's also a bit of an Easter Egg in here for most of you _Gundam_ vets reading this. I won't say where it is, but you'll see it. Trust me.


	18. Sonic and Co: Eastbound

**Great Desert, outside Red Rock**

**September 22, UC 0079**

**1256 Hours (PST)**

* * *

The zing of laser guns and the rattle of assault rifles echoed across the sand. Tanks closed in on the adobe settlement as a handful of Legion saucers hovered above. On the eastern side of town, a sleek copper vehicle crossed the trench encircling Red Rock. Dust and pebbles formed a grainy fog as the landcraft slipped rapidly away from the faltering DEL stronghold.

It really wasn't Sonic's style to be driven around, but he couldn't carry three girls as easily as he had done with just Sally. They'd accomplished the task of finding Bunnie, but circumstances led to another joining them—Mighty's long-lost sister Matilda. "I wish I could put the best possible face on this, kid," he told her, "but I don't think your Legion buddies are going to make it. You can't go back anymore."

In the driver's seat, Sally skillfully directed the vehicle through increasingly rough terrain. "Sonic," she said, "is anyone trailing us?"

He looked behind them. Red Rock crumbled in the distance, but closer to them was some kind of helicopter… and it had just let loose a rocket! "Sal! Turn right, quick!"

The speeder made a sharp turn to the right. The missile missed, erupting in the sand.

Bunnie responded with a laser to the chopper's right wing. It hit the cluster of four ATGMs, destroying the bundle via chain reaction, but the gunship remained airborne.

With the foursome having made a one-eighty toward Red Rock, the helicopter tried to continue its pursuit. Now, it could make use of its machine gun mounted beneath its nose. The speeder's repulsors had created a large blanket of dust attempting to evade the hail of bullets and the odd missile.

When she got a clear shot, Bunnie let loose a Boost Knuckle. It was small in comparison to the gunship, but the force was enough to take out that machine gun. "If only there weren't so much blamed dust," said Bunnie.

"It may be hard for us to fight it," said Sally, "but I think the sand's helping us too."

The cyborg Rabbit suddenly jumped out of the speeder and went airborne, thanks to her jets. Getting right up in their pursuer's figurative face wasn't that difficult since it was lacking the weapons to effectively hit her. The two bewildered crewmen didn't know what to make of Bunnie as she charged right at them and smashed the windshield with her metal arm!

Down below, her three travelling partners watched as the chopper's flight became increasingly erratic, culminating in a loss of altitude and a crash-landing. Fortunately for them, Bunnie was able to bust out of the copter and ease back down to the ground. She touched down, but lost balance.

Bringing the speeder to a stop, Sonic and Sally rushed out to their friend.

"Sorry, y'all," she chuckled, "I got a bit carried away there."

"Don't sweat it," said Sonic. "If you'd stayed put, we'd all be worm chow."

"We need to get back to Acorn before another one of those things finds us," said Sally.

"Acorn?" asked Tilly. "We're going to Acorn?"

"Things over here are going south, kid," said Sonic. "We'll all be much safer in New Mobotropolis. Besides, I'm not braindead—fighting all _that_ ain't on the menu."

Sally rolled her eyes. "But aliens and gods are okay?"

"But I'm with the DEL," said Tilly. "I'm your enemy."

"You're probably all that's left," he explained. "Your friends told us to take care of you." Then, something Beauregard had said yesterday crossed the Hedgehog's mind. "The Baron… told me you're Mighty's sister?"

"You know Mighty?" she asked.

"He's a good friend of ours," Sonic replied.

* * *

Seven. This was all that remained of the resistance. They were hopelessly outnumbered by the assault, but fought on anyway. All the survivors gained was a bunch of guns aimed at them, poised to fire in the event they tried something funny.

A Zeon captain, tall and slim, circled his prisoners like a buzzard over a carcass. They all had their hoods down, allowing the victors to get a look at them. Interestingly, they all had the traits of animals and had artificial implants as well. Nobody knew what to make of it.

"I have to give you credit," the officer told them. "You fought on in spite of superior firepower. This war's taken an interesting turn: genetically altered animals? No doubt a top-secret Federation bioweapon. The big mystery is how did you get so deep behind our lines?"

One captive, a Hyena, spoke at last. "Lines?"

The ring of soldiers around the POWs began whispering to one another upon hearing the word being uttered.

"You can talk?" the captain asked. "Then maybe I can ask you a few questions. Who are you, what are you, and where do you come from?"

"Harry Hyena. We're the Great Desert Chapter of the Dark Egg Legion. We were assigned to this sector by our boss." With move than a dozen guns pointed at the group, lying was a non-option.

"What is the Dark Egg Legion?"

"We are soldiers. We are sworn to defend and expand the boundaries of the Eggman Empire."

A brief pause, then the officer asked another question. "As in a _Dr. _Eggman?"

"Ye-Yes," the Hyena answered. "How do you know about him?"

The human smiled. After the one-sided victory, the prisoner could at least be thrown a bone. "An AAR," he explained. "Four days ago, an unidentified flying object was intercepted by Notre Dame Base over the Atlantic coast of Canada. A large, metallic egg. It was forced down and boarded. We discovered a man calling himself Eggman commanding the vehicle and he had a prisoner claiming to be his nephew. Both men were taken into custody by Commissar Garma."

"You captured…"

"Yes," the captain answered. "Last I've heard, those two are being sent to the brass for questioning."

One side of the ring broke. Four tired-looking grunts and a lieutenant approached. "Captain Sermuks, we've received an IFF from point PB-4. Gunship Heli 457 was destroyed in pursuit of an enemy landcraft escaping east-northeast. Four are believed to have been aboard the vehicle it was targeting."

The captain faced the Hyena again. It was time for more questions. "Retreating friendlies? Where are they going?"

"They weren't friendlies," he said in frantic defense. "Well, one of them was, but she's just a kid. The three others were from Acorn, and that's on the other side of the continent. We… We'd heard about what happened to Sand Blast City last night and we wanted to get her out before she got hurt."

The captain smiled deviously. "Ehrhardt," he said, turning to the lieutenant, "send a message to California Base. The Commissar is going to find this new intel _pretty_ entertaining."

* * *

"….frey? Geoffrey?"

Naugus was finally coming to. He'd felt like his student's body had been completely blown away and he was still feeling dizzy. Three members of the Council were at his bedside: Charles, Isabella, and Rosemary. They all had a look of concern about his condition. "Wh-What happened?"

"Thank goodness you're alright," said Isabella. "After you'd requested that recess during the meeting, we'd found you unconscious on the floor outside. We rushed you to the hospital right away. You were out for almost two hours."

"You look horrible, Geoffrey," said Rosemary. "We were noticing that you spacing out a few times during the old business discussion. We were never able to ask about what happened to King Naugus. Is he sick? Did you contract the same illness?"

"The king's disease isn't contagious," he told them.

"You've been taking up many of his roles after he disappeared from the public," she continued. "We've become… concerned."

"They told me about it on the way over," said Chuck. "Dr. Quack diagnosed you with hypertension and exhaustion. You won't need to stay here, but he recommends you step down for a while."

"Maybe you're right, Sir Charles," said Naugus "I could have bitten off more than I could chew after all." _Exhaustion? Ha! Those demons' constant quarreling did this! _"Where is the A—er, NICOLE? I need to talk to her as soon as I can. It refers to something for king Naugus."

"I'll let her know," Chuck said, hesitantly. "In the meantime, you get some rest. Rosemary? Isabella?" The three councilmen left "Geoffrey's" room, but on his way out, Chuck gave a quick glance back at the Skunk.

Naugus just noticed the Hedgehog's expression. How much did he know, and how?

* * *

A shroud of dust had fallen over the desert. For four Mobians, continuing their trek eastward was out of the question when a sandstorm was brewing. Finding cover from nature was one thing, but with a hostile military behind them, they had additional pressure. It was sheer luck that they were able to find shelter out in the middle of the wilderness.

It started off with the remains of those giants from the night before, but these had been there for a very long time. The most prominent of the wreckage, though, could best be described as some kind of tank/artillery hybrid with arms and a torso; its immense cannon drooping down into the sand.

The odd thing about the site was that while the big machine had the Zeon insignia on its hull, the mangled titans had a different paint job on them as opposed to what Sonic had seen the night before. With a huge tsunami of sand heading their way, though, there wasn't much time to pontificate on their color.

The interior of the wreck was made to accommodate a small human crew, perhaps only two. It was a good place for a temporary shelter for the foursome to wait out the storm in. It also appeared to have been ransacked at some point. Various bits of hardware had been torn out by some unknown party, Zeon or that EFGF thing (whatever it was), leaving rubber wires dangling, long dead.

Bunnie was on her back, fiddling under the console, while the others sat around and waited on the sand to stop.

_I'm really hoping Eggman doesn't clock back in at this point,_ Sonic thought. _Getting blown back to the Stone Age in the middle of nowhere ain't my idea of going out._

"Y'know, Sonic, the castle really has nothing on this tin can," Sally remarked, regarding their cramped accommodations.

"Yuk it up, Sal," the Hedgehog replied, reciprocating the snark. "I never promised we'd hide out in a beauty salon."

"Got some good news, y'all," said Bunnie. "I was able to hotwire some of these systems and get them running again."

"It would seem that this cockpit was designed to be airtight," said Tilly. "Wouldn't they have installed an oxygen-recycler of some sort?"

"It would make sense," said Sally. "Not too sure what powered this thing, though."

"Hope nobody has to pee or anything," said Sonic. "Listen." One could easily hear the violent winds outside, hissing and whistling like a boiling kettle of tea. Sand beat down on the hull like rain. "We're going to chill in here till this blows over." He laid down, his arms propping up his head.

It was going to be a long wait.

* * *

Twilight in New Mobotropolis. Things had been quiet in the city since the skirmish with Mecha Sally. It seemed as if Dr. Eggman's disappearance was ushering in a time of peace that Acorn hadn't seen since before the Great War.

Showcasing the easy-going mood of the evening was Uncle Chuck's Diner. The only bit of trouble that could be found was at one booth at the eatery.

Mina Mongoose studied a draft of song lyrics, handwritten on paper in ink. Skeptical was the word to describe her expression, and the cause was the lyrics themselves:

_Pity the tragic pitiful and all they left behind,_

_Nothing is left from what we find. Have we gone too far?_

_In the middle of nowhere, fire in the sky,_

_We fade into darkness; all you want is to be free!_

_Pity the pity of your life, don't throw away hope._

_Has a new age begun for those who survive?_

_A line of destruction across the wasteland_

_Distorts into darkness and the fire's burning red!_

_You gotta fight for what you believe in,_

_And when you do there will be a meaning,_

_The ones you love never will forget it,_

_And in the end your legacy remains._

_You risk the living to save the hopeful,_

_I pray, pray for a new day._

"How is it?" asked Ash.

"The melody's definitely a keeper," said Mina "but the lyrics need a little more work. They get a little clumsy at 'Has a new age begun'."

"Would you like menus?" It was their waitress, a grey Mouse with brown hair. She was about a year younger than the singer.

"We've already decided," said Mina. "Chuck Jr. with a cola and fries."

"Chuckburger with a root beer and onion rings," Ash added.

The waitress didn't pay much attention to who the two patrons were as she wrote down their order and left for the kitchen.

"I have to admit," said Ash, "even though it's not the finished product, those are some pretty morbid lyrics for such an energetic melody."

"We've been through a lot, Ash. A lot of us were born during the Great War and Robotnik War I started immediately as it ended. After he died, Eggman showed up. Most of us never even knew genuine peace."

"Aware of the direness the world is in, but still optimistic that things will get better, huh?" he said, trying to sum up what his girlfriend was trying to put out. It was an interesting concept. "Anything ideas for an arrangement, yet?"

"That's the thing," said Mina. "Needs something that evokes… I don't know, breaking free of gravity or something. Like a keyboard in the intro, but I worry that might be jumping the gun. What do you think?"

Ash chuckled a little. "I don't see why not," he replied. "I was actually playing around with the idea this morning."

"Idea of what?" Mina asked. "Sending out for another member?"

"Bingo," said Ash.

"You really think we have the resources for a fifth guy?"

"Um… Y-Your drinks are here and your food, food will be ready shortly." It was the waitress. A minute ago, she didn't even make eye contact with the couple, now that she had she was blue in the face.

"Are you alright?" Mina asked. She sensed some discomfort from the Mouse, but had a hunch that it was probably from realizing just who exactly she was.

"Y-Yes, ma'am," she answered a little loudly.

"Chloe?"

The Mouse turned her head to see the diner's namesake poking his head out of the kitchen door and motioning for her to come over to him. She obliged.

* * *

Chloe Mouse followed her boss through the kitchen and to his office. She was taking deep breaths, hoping that she hadn't screwed up in some egregious fashion. It couldn't have been Mina just now. She didn't even realize it was the famous singer until she went back into the kitchen.

Chuck didn't go behind his desk, but he did stand about three yards away from her and simply asked "Chloe, is something wrong?"

She stammered a bit. "What do you mean?"

"Zach said that you froze out there at Booth 8. Are you feeling alright?"

"I am," said Chloe. "It's just that I didn't realize that I was waiting on Mina Mongoose of all people!"

"Is that all?" the elderly Hedgehog asked warmly. "Mina and Ash have been regulars here ever since the move from Knothole." He put his hand on the girl's shoulder. "I know you're still pretty new around here, but you can't let something like a famous face distract you from your work. So far, you've been doing a great job."

Chloe took a deep breath. "Thank you, Mr. Chuck," she said. "I won't let it get to me."

"A lot of famous people eat here. My nephew Sonic makes a B-line for this place every blessed time he wants a dozen chili dogs."

"S-Sonic? The _Sonic the Hedgehog_ Sonic? You're his uncle?" she asked with a blown mind.

"You didn't notice the resemblance?" he asked.

Chloe made the connection then. People had often said that she was too polite for her own good, so she would have never asked if there were an opportunity.

"Sonic, the Freedom Fighter, the Chaotix, the Forget Me Knots, all sorts eat here. Just keep a level head like you always do, and you'll be alright." With an assuring pat, he released her back to her duties.

The office was adjacent to the kitchen, so she was back in the game in a split second. Hutch Bear was almost done with an order, while Zach Beaver busily scrubbed trays and dishes at the sink.

DING! Hutch hit the bell. "Chloe, order 77 is ready. Booth 8."

Chloe blushed. _Booth 8… Mina._ She had just promised Chuck that she'd keep a cool head out there. Now she was going to get a mulligan with the songstress. Two burgers, one large and one small, with golden crinkle fries and deep-brown onion rings were going out.

Inhaling through the nose and out her mouth, the Mouse approached the two Mongooses. "Here you are," she said. "I hope you enjoy."

"Thank you," said Ash.

"Look," said Chloe, blushing, "I just made a grade-A fool of myself, but just one jam session with you when I'm off and I could live it down! Please!"

Mina giggled. The waitress was trying to apologize for something so silly. "You can play music?"

"Only as a hobby, really," the Mouse admitted, already wishing she hadn't blurted that out. "I'm really a mediocre musician if you ask me, but I just never exp—!"

"You off tomorrow?" Mina asked, interrupting her.

"Y-Yes I am," Chloe responded.

"Then come to our trailer and we'll chat a little bit."

She meant it. Chloe watched as her patron took out a pen and scribbled down an address on a napkin. She had no words.

* * *

Author's notes:

Another rough one, particularly in regard to Mina and Chloe's first scene, so big thanks to HyperionGM and SonicEvan, as well as Dr. Z, for input and direction. Thankfully, we'll be getting back to the _White Base_ in the next chapter… and another step closer to the biggest even in this version of the UC. At one point, I panicked, thinking I'd lost all my progress after the capture of the Desert Chapter remnants by Zeon, but was thankfully auto-saved.

\+ The wreckage that Sonic and the girls take shelter from the sandstorm in are the remains of the experimental YMT-05 Hildolfr. An experimental "mobile tank" functioning as a tank and an artillery unit, its design had been scrapped by the Zeon brass two years before the war broke out. In May of 0079, it was assigned to occupied Arizona for data collection, only to get caught up in a skirmish with EFF pilots flying stolen Zakus. The Hildolfr defeated the squad, but was also lost in the fighting. Its story can be seen in the CG OVA MS IGLOO: THE HIDDEN ONE YEAR WAR. (Suggestion from HyperionGM)

\+ Chloe Mouse's origins actually start with Mina's creation. Mina was originally to be called Chloe, but Archie felt that there were too many characters with a long-"E" ending their names (ex.: Sally, Bunnie, Dulcy, etc.). As such, Karl Bollers tried to call her "Minerva", but that name was modified to "Mina".

\+ Mina's rough draft are actually the lyrics to Richie Kotzen's 2006 adaptation of "Soldiers of Sorrow". Some people on the forums of MAHQ were complaining back in the day about the album it was on not being pure enough or something. It's not exactly the spitting image, cover-wise, and there are some parts that are kind of flimsy.


	19. WHITE BASE: Re-entry to Earth

**Flicky Island**

**January 5, 3235**

**1303 Hours  
**

* * *

Flicky Island. A strange landmass in the Great Mobocean, peppered with strange ruins, a checkered terrain, and flowers which grow from gemstones. The island's namesake birds had no natural predators, nor any outside danger. But that was before today, when Mobius' self-appointed dictator Dr. Ivo Robotnik landed on the atoll.

Robotnik emerged from a curtain of leafy foliage, grinning at a pleasing sight: a large ring hovering over a hatch. A hatch which a flock of Flickies were fluttering out of one by one. "Just as I suspected!" he laughed. "A gigantic magic ring serving as a dimensional portal! I knew these Flickies and their bizarre world had to come from outside the normal Mobian reality! Such an alternate dimension can only be powered by a Chaos Emerald! A Chaos Emerald that will soon come into the possession of Ivo Robotnik!" A short drop from the ledge he was on and he was just a small sprint away from conquest. "The ultimate power is just a hop, skip, and a jump away!"

Before he could make a cannonball to victory, something rammed him right in the backside. "You can skip that jump, hophead!" His long-time enemy had found him!

"Sonic, you've interfered with my plans for the last time!" he yelled. "Now our final confrontation begins!"

"Why don't we just cut to the chase, Tubbo?" Sonic asked. "Turn yourself in and avoid any unnecessary oilshed!"

"Shed this, Hedgehog!" Robotnik shot back. "My gauntlet-mounted particle beam!" The shrill shriek of the weapon's discharge hit Sonic, who disappeared in a smoky cloud shaped like him. "Great balls of cholesterol—it vaporized him!"

"Wrong again!" a familiar voice announced. "That was the image of me moving away at double light speed! And now for a supersonic wedgie!" The still-kicking Sonic had grabbed the bloated tyrant by the back of his suit and gave him a big Melvin.

Embarrassed, Robotnik tried to fix his underwear from outside his clothes, mumbling like a grumpy old man.

"C'mon, Ivo," Sonic said, playfully but still meaning it "Let me hear you say 'uncle'!"

"Never! Flickie Island will be mine!"

Sonic approached, ready to pound the portly villain flat against the ground. "Okay, you asked for it, Flabbio—!" Quite accidentally, Sonic's nose rubbed against Robotnik's as he charged forward… which suddenly filled the Hedgehog with a surge of electricity.

"No," said Robotnik, satisfied, "you did when you allowed our noses to meet! Observe the neural disruption field—tuned to my physiology, but a shocking jolt to yours!"

Sonic stumbled around, dizzy from the shock.

At this opening, Robotnik jumped through the ring, announcing "To the victor goes the Chaos Emerald!"

Once he got his senses back, Sonic pursued him with a Figure-8 Peel-Out.

A psychedelic swirl enveloped the Hedgehog and the cries of Flickies echoed his descent. But as soon as he hit light, Sonic was face-to-fist with a fist as big as he was. Robotnik had brought a battlesuit with him.

Fortunately for Sonic, this battle of speed and technology wouldn't last that long. Sonic quickly found some sort of speed booster that amped-up his spin dash just enough to total the machine, leaving the flabby villain dizzy on the ground.

"Oh no," Robotnik coughed, "is this the end of Rico—err, I mean Robo?" Soon, he was feeling a tug on his cape. Sonic wasn't done trying to humiliate him… but the show was about to go on the other foot as the downed Doctor flipped open a panel on his gauntlet. "How fortuitous of you to grab me by the cape," he said, deviously. "The cape that I control by electromagnetics woven into the fabric!" The cape wrapped Sonic tightly, making him look like a burrito. "And don't bother to struggle!" he added. "My cape is made from the strongest fiber in the world: _Plaidmantium_!" With a poke and a cry of "Timber!", the Hedgehog fell to the ground, writhing and squirming in an attempt to get out.

_The Robo-Rat's got me this time!_ Sonic thought. _And he's spotted the location of the Chaos Emerald!_

A grotto with a green glow inside was nearby. Robotnik was running straight for it. "At last! The green light at the end of the tunnel!"

SHAKINN!

Every Flicky in the area took flight and Robotnik suddenly fell down with a scream of pain.

Still trapped in the despot's cape, Sonic struggled to find the shooter. A grey Mole had entered the zone with them. Kneeling on a small ridge, he had a rifle aimed at where Robotnik was; the barrel smoldered.

As if by magic, the stranger swapped out the rifle for a pistol. It was seemingly pulled from out of thin air.

The downed Robotnik used his failing strength to roll over, with intent to zap him with his particle beam like he had tried on Sonic.

Before anything could happen, the Mole pulled the trigger on the pistol. It entered the former warlord's left shoulder. He kept walking forward, firing another shot, entering Robotnik's right eye. Soon, he was over the fallen dictator, who was struggling to hang on to life.

The constricted Sonic could only helplessly watch, terrified, as the Mole emptied the rest of his ammunition into the dying Robotnik. The killer's face was cold and expressionless, like a machine. Not even a shred of guilt as he committed the unnatural act of killing another living being.

Even though Robotnik was dead as a doorknob, the guy just kept pumping the corpse full of bullets until he ran out. The killer stared at the bloated body for a good minute, not saying a thing, before turning and heading toward the ridge he'd appeared on. He stopped only when he saw Sonic.

His mere gaze chilled Sonic's blood.

Finally, he spoke. "You had your chance and you refused it."

* * *

Sonic snapped awake. He was back in the wreckage and, thankfully, neither did the oxygen system break down nor did Bunnie and Tilly blow up. No sound of the sandstorm, either.

Was it okay to go out? Yes.

A mild avalanche of sand fell as Sonic opened the machine's hatch and that was it. It was pitch-black outside with a star-filled sky. They'd slept too long.

The Hedgehog stared into the night. Sapper had even gotten into his dreams. No matter how hard he tried to move on, the Mole's bone-chilling outlook on life would always catch up, it seemed.

"Y'all okay, sugar-hog?" Bunnie had followed him out of the wreck.

"Bunnie, am I too soft?" Sonic asked. "Shaming Robotnik and Eggman was as far as I ever went. I've never gone as far as to kill someone, unlike Sapper."

She looked at her implanted arm, the memory of the night before still vivid and painful. "Y'all'd have to be pushed really far to take a life," she replied.

"I know," the Hedgehog agreed. "I've been through no shortage of shit in my life, but somehow I haven't cracked yet. I try not to think about Sapper, but… there's always this part in the back of my head asking if he was right."

"W-What?"

"Was he right about us being too soft on guys like Eggman?" he asked. "I mean, it doesn't excuse him for what he did to your uncle, but… if we had killed Robotnik earlier, what could we have prevented? Would Eggman have even come to our universe in the first place?"

"I really can't tell," Bunnie admitted. "If it wasn't for Eggman, we wouldn't have lasted long against the Xorda." Gazing up at the stars, the cyborg was reminded of the previous night. "By the way, how'n the heck did you know about that air strike against Sand Blast?"

"I really don't know," Sonic admitted. "Best I can guess is that it might have something to do with Chaos Energy. A side effect of Emerald use, but I'm not sure." Looking away from the sky and into the blackness, a new thought crossed Sonic's mind. "Bunnie, you saw all those wrecked giants out there?"

"Yeah?"

"We're gonna look at these things and see just what exactly they are."

* * *

_How did I get wrapped up in this war?_ Amuro zipped up the front of a normal suit he was issued. A whitish-silver pilot's suit, significantly less bulky than the ones worn by the Federation staff during the evacuation of the bunch. But that seemed to have been an eternity ago.

They were directly over Earth now and would start descending shortly. The Gundam was combat-ready again, but the Guncannons were in questionable condition. The one Kai had flown on the mission against the Papua, though, was still trashed.

If Char was going to attack, the Gundam would have to go out.

This time, Bright wasn't likely to let him sit it out again. The suit was better than 100%.

Ryu, suited up and ready for the fight, took notice of the boy. "Fits you like a glove!" he commented. "Silver for the new model? Not too bad." He proceeded to put Amuro's helmet on him, much like how a mother would dress her kid for Halloween. "There's a double seal at the neck," he said as he adjusted it. "You want this thing airtight." He then pointed out two metallic boxes on the sides of the suit. "These packs produce oxygen. They're super-compact."

Two buttons were on either side of the helmet. Pressing both would activate an aqua visor to shield the face or raise it, based on its position. "Kinda hard to breathe," Amuro said.

"You'll do fine," Ryu laughed. "Give it time."

"I guess now I'll have to fight," the boy said aloud. _Wearing something like this… it can really change you._

A monitor on the locker room wall beeped and turned on. Bright was calling them. _"Amuro," _he said, _"once your normal suit's on, standby in the Gundam."_

"Y-Yes, Captain Bright!"

* * *

Captain? Even though Paolo was dead, Bright was still just a lieutenant junior grade. Was Amuro still trying to be cute or something?

Mirai, though, remained calm. "Never mind those details," she calmly told him. "That boy's fretting, too."

"No, it's not that," he said._ How am I going to tell her? Ever since that "sunburst" the other day I've been having the weirdest feelings. About Earth. _From a distance, the planet looked the same, but as the ship got closer to it, Bright was able to make out subtle geographical changes: two large islands in the Atlantic that weren't there before, one east of Florida and another southwest of the Iberian Peninsula; a second crater had appeared Australia, one further inland from the recently-formed Gulf of Sydney; the Isle of Man between Ireland and England seemed to have grown as well.

"Want one?" Mirai was offering Bright a squeeze-bottle of punch.

He accepted.

"Twenty-five minutes until atmospheric entry," she said, heading back to the wheel.

"Are you all set, Mirai?"

"I've only done this once," she admitted. "With my father's glider. That time, I had more backup."

"But the basics are the same, aren't they?" Bright asked, taking a sip through the bottle's long built-in straw. "We'll just follow the Salamis' directions."

"What worries me is Char. I doubt he'd just given up."

She was right. That Musai was still tailing them. Nevertheless, Bright tried to think of a best-case scenario. "But he's used up all of his resources, so…"

"He did take on _some_ supplies," Mirai noted. "The question is how much did he get?" Even though they sunk the Papua, they were certain that a transfer of materiel had taken place before the cargo ship went down.

A crackle. The bridge had picked up a transmission. _"Hey, you kids! You read me?" _

"It's Lt. Reed!" said Bright. "It's coming from the Salamis!"

An officer in a normal suit appeared on the monitor above the bridge. _"We're about to re-enter! Are you ready?"_

"Yes, sir," Bright answered.

_"We'll be safe in the ship's capsule,"_ said Reed. _"It'll enter at high speed, so keep up! Good luck." _The transmission ended.

"We're now leaving orbit," Bright announced. "Assume re-entry altitude."

The _White Base_ slowly began her descent.

A smile came to the young officer's face. Maybe that Musai turned around and gave up the chase. The return trip to Jaburo was going to be a walk in the park from this point on.

Then, a sudden announcement from Oscar flipped everything upside-down. "Mr. Bright, the Musai! At nine o'clock, +30⁰!"

"I've put it up on the main panel," said Marker. "We've folded the antennas, so the visual's going to be blurry."

Indeed, it was blurry, but there was no mistake: it was the Musai.

"Damn you, Char," Bright said beneath his breath. "What are you planning?"

* * *

The bridge of the _Falmel_. Char stood before three pilots newly assigned to the Musai, ready for a small pep rally. On his left, a lanky man with strawberry-blond hair, Private Gunther Crown; in the middle, a dark-haired, rugged-faced Lance Corporal, Dubois Komu; on the right, a buff Sergeant with short hair named Josef Quelroz. Dren and other bridge personnel stood in attention.

"We are fortunate to have received three new Zakus and top-notch pilots as well," Char began. "We'll enter the atmosphere in twenty minutes! A battle with this kind of timing is unprecedented! As you know, neither this ship nor your Zakus can take re-entry friction. However, our enemies have to concentrate on their navigation. So right now, our best chance is to attack. Your main target is the 'Trojan Horse'! The enemy mobile suits are the secondary objective!" He saluted. "I expect you all to do your best!"

The Salamis' re-entry capsule was deployed, the mothership's crew unaware of a Musai in the area. The wings of the _White Base _had folded sternward, poised for descent, but her hangars buzzing with activity.

In a rec room in the living section of the ship, the Side 7 refugees were as oblivious as the Salamis crew. Children crowed around the viewport excitedly as the surface of the planet below made up the whole view. An enthusiasm cut short as a hatch slid down in front of the glass.

Fraw Bow had entered the room at this point. "Don't panic," she said, "we're about to enter the atmosphere! There will be some turbulence, though. If the rocking gets too bad, just grab the nearest table or rail. There's nothing to worry about."

* * *

Amuro was strapped into the Gundam's cockpit, with butterflies in his stomach. Being thrown into the fire was becoming common for the boy, but he was in a normal suit now and he wasn't used to them.

Last time he was here, the fighting took place on the bunch and in space. Now, there's the danger of the gravity well in addition to Zakus.

Outside the prototype, he could hear the hangar crew hastily getting prep done.

Then, it was interrupted by a call from Sayla. _"Prepare to intercept," _she said. _"Four Zakus incoming from the left!"_

"Four Zakus?" said Amuro. "That's not what I was told!"

_"But it's a fact,"_ Sayla responded. _"Now we know how many supplies they got. We'll recover you via the rear deck! Return in four minutes, otherwise both you and the Gundam will burn up. So don't chase the enemy too far, just keep them away from the _White Base_! Watch your altitude and keep your eye on the clock!"_

"How am I supposed to do that?" Amuro asked, plaintively. "I'll be in combat!"

Sayla laughed. _"If anyone can do it, you can."_

Amuro's face turned pink when he heard this. "D-Don't flatter me." Soon, he realized something. That Zeon pilot who assaulted her (and nearly killed him) on Luna II had dislocated her shoulder and she had spent the last few days in a sling. It was gone now. "Miss Sayla, is your left shoulder alright?"

Sayla seemed a little surprised by this question, but still answered. _"Yes, it's fine. Thank you, Amuro."_

The hatch was open and bright earthlight filled the hangar.

"Amuro launching!"

* * *

The Zaku's camera zoomed in on the "Trojan Horse". Something had just been deployed from the port hangar. When he could make it out, a grin came to Char's face. "Just like I thought," he said. "It came out after all. That's the Federation's suit for you." He switched the channel. "Dren, launch the Komusai and then pull back!"

_"Roger! Happy hunting!"_

With orders given to Dren, the Comet's attention could be turned to his team. "Komu, you'll move ahead and keep that mobile suit busy."

_"I copy, sir."_

"Crown, J.Q., got your bazookas ready? The three of us are going to take care of the 'Trojan Horse'."

* * *

Four Zakus—three green, one red. Amuro could see them clearly through his targeting scope. One of the greens seemed to be breaking off. _First catch, buddy._

Suddenly, three projectiles came rushing toward the Gundam! Missiles?

No, RPGs.

Amuro dodged, only to discover, much to his shock, that he wasn't the target. Fire bloomed from the ship's hull as the grenades made impact._ Oh no, they hit us?_

The cockpit rocked. The breakaway Zaku was belting the Gundam with machine gun fire, but the latter's shield mitigated what damage it could have caused. The tables turned quickly: Amuro responded to his attacker's bullets with a blast of mega particles.

* * *

"Scratch one Zaku," Marker announced. "Looks like Amuro's doing pretty good."

"Doing pretty good?" said Bright, flustered. "We just took a bad hit!" He turned to Sayla. "Sayla, tell Amuro to lead the Zakus away! If they keep hitting us, we're through! Where's the Gundam now, Oscar?"

"Coming towards us," Oscar reported. "It seems he's trying to engage the Zakus."

_Well I guess that's worth something_, Bright thought. _Better to reach Jaburo with a black eye than it is to so in a body bag. _He picked up the phone and called the battery. "Ryu, are air defenses are weak! What's wrong?"

_"We're doing our best, but we're running low on guns _and_ men!"  
_

* * *

"Komu, come in! Komu!" Char got no answer on his radio. Just static. The reason was easy to discern when he laid eyes on the flash of a disintegrating Zaku. Now, it was coming for J.Q. and Crown.

He let loose a blast from his bazooka, but the enemy suit ducked under the shot. He seemed to have learned something over the past couple of days.

Tossing his bazooka aside, Char whipped out the heat hawk holstered to his Zaku's side: an ax-like weapon with a super-heated blade. With a blast of his thrusters, the red mobile suit charged ahead and swung its weapon; it backed off as quickly as the pilot could make it. Even though the blade didn't make contact with the enemy suit itself, it was able to hack off the barrel of its beam weapon.

With another thrust, Char got his Zaku to kick his opponent in the belly like a martial artist.

"That's one remarkable mobile suit," Char admitted, "but it's time for you to learn that sheer power doesn't decide the battle."

* * *

The _White Base_ rocked again. By now, the refugees were aware of the Zeon attack. Shocks like this were definitely not the cause of turbulence. People squeezed anything bolted to avoid anything sending them flying.

Fraw Bow and the kids were ducking in the corner as hell broke lose outside the ship. "That was real bad," he said, very concerned about everything going on. "Is that from a Zaku or is that Musai firing on us?"

"Think we'll make it?" asked Letz, just as worried.

Katz had no answer. "I don't kn—KIKKA!"

Kikka was trying to crawl away from them all. Katz managed to nab her by the belt and Fraw dragged her back over. "Lemme go, Fraw Bow!" she growled. "Kikka's gonna fight, too!"

"This is a war, you dummy!" Letz told her.

She was adamant. "A war? I ain't scared!"

"Well, you should be!"

"Well, I ain't!"

* * *

Tension on the bridge was so thick a chainsaw would have cut through it. Three Zakus were still out there, but only two were still firing on the ship. If they could only hold on just a _little _longer.

"Altitude now 100," Marker announced. "Descent speed, Mach 20."

"We'll enter the dust belt in two minutes," Oscar added.

A little bit of relief had finally come to Bright. He picked up his phone and pressed the line for the rear deck. "Open the aft hatch," he told them. "Prepare to recover the Gundam."

"Mr. Bright! The capsule!" Mirai alerted the bridge's attention to the Salamis' re-entry capsule ahead. Smoke trailed from its starboard wing.

A distorted, but still coherent, transmission was received. _"This is Reed, a Zaku winged us. We won't make re-entry, clear a dock for us!"_

Nothing was going right, it seemed. First Side 7, then Luna II, and now this. Char was doing everything to make this return to Earth as miserable as possible. "The rear deck is open," he told him. "Enter from there."

Less room for the Gundam, in terms of seconds and space.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

In working on this, I had decided early on to contrast the happy-go-lucky atmosphere of the pre-Issue 46 era of Archie Sonic with the grittiness of Sapper. The only portions I needed help on with the new areas pretty much involved Sonic and Bunnie. Big thanks of SonicEvan and Hyperion GM for that little bit, the remainder was a cinch... for the most part.

The _Gundam _portion was a bit of a marriage between what happened in the TV and movie versions of the skirmish above Earth and the _Origin_ version. Whereas Amuro fought with a Hyper Bazooka in Movie I (and a Gundam Hammer in the TV version), whereas he had the Beam Rifle in the manga. Here, we get introduced to Mr. Congeniality himself... Lt. Reed. You know what a load of sunshine he is if you've seen any version of the story. LOL!

Also, gotta give Kikka credit. Little Pikachu-face trying to fight a war and isn't even ready for grade school yet!


	20. WHITE BASE: Into the Atmosphere

**EFS **_**White Base**_**, directly above Earth**

**September 23, 0079**

**1525 Hours, GMT  
**

* * *

"Lieutenant Bright!" Reed thundered as he left the elevator and entered the bridge. "What's going on out there?"

"What does it look like?" Bright asked through clinched teeth.

Much to Reed's horror, the now-unarmed Gundam could be seen on the main screen, fighting with a red Zaku as the gravity well slowly began to take effect. It struggled to hit the enemy mobile suit with its Vulcans. "Idiots! Recover it at once!"

Bright responded in an irritated tone. Irritated from the situation. "Lt. Reed, we've only just retrieved your capsule and the Gundam is still in combat—with the Red Comet!"

"These are grounds for a court martial!" Reed shouted as he pounded a nearby railing with both fists. He pointed an accusing finger at the younger Bright and snarled. "You're about to turn the Federation's most vital secret into space dust! I'll give witness when we get to Jaburo! They'll hear of your misconduct!"

Bright was resolute as a mountain, despite Reed's barking. "Do as you will, lieutenant! I don't give a damn what you tell them… assuming we even make it to Jaburo!"

* * *

Char had the white mobile suit in a headlock from behind. His Zaku punched it on the cheek twice with its left fist before the retro-thrusters on the suit created enough of a push to free itself from his grip. _Damn this white bastard_, Char thought. _Is it a monster?_

Dren crackled over the Zaku's radio: _"Commander Char! We're at the limit! Get into the Komusai!"_

Char looked at the rapidly-descending "Trojan Horse". In spite of the hammering his team had given her, she'd gotten a lucky break. "Crown, Josef, fall back!" he ordered. "We're out of time."

Two Zakus boosted away from the gravitational pull and toward the green shuttle a short distance away. One Zaku, though, was still trying to fight the Gundam.

"Crown, it's too late for that suit to be recovered," Char radioed. "Get in the Komusai right now!"

* * *

The bridge of the _White Base_ was in full panic mode. With the windows covered for protection from re-entry heat, the crew relied solely on the ship's external camera to see what was going on outside. Now that they were inexorably dropping, it would temporarily be off the table.

Attempts to radio the Gundam were reflective of this. No matter how hard Sayla and Bright tried to reach Amuro, nothing seemed to get through to him.

Dread settled in on everyone. The Gundam would most certainly burn up.

Reed fell to his knees. His voice was cracking. "If I lose the Gundam, Wakkein and Jaburo won't forgive me." Tears streamed down his face.

The elevator opened and a girl's voice was heard. "Where's Amuro? Hasn't he returned yet?" Fraw Bow had entered the bridge, but the sight she saw on the main screen caused her to scream.

Two masses, engulfed in fire, were falling in the distance. They weren't meteors, but mobile suits.

"What's he doing out there!?" asked a horrified Fraw. "Aren't you going to rescue him?"

"We can't contact him," Sayla told her. "There's too much interference."

"Hull temperature rising," Mirai said, a bit crestfallen. "All systems nominal."

Finally, the main screen was replaced with snow. The transmission from the camera was interrupted.

With a defeated sigh, Bright picked up the phone and pressed the read deck hotline. "Close the hatch," was his somber order.

Amuro was as good as dead.

* * *

Char's descent from his Zaku's cockpit was slightly faster since gravity was starting to take over, but he drifted down safely. Josef had boarded the Komusai just before Char left his suit.

The "Trojan Horse" had gotten away, but least the Operation V mobile suit was history.

That suit. He was right in front of it the other day when that one girl confronted him.

She was the spitting image of _her_, but she behaved completely differently.

The Artesia he remembered was such a docile, sensitive little girl. This one pointed a gun at him with intent to shoot. She couldn't have been her, could she?

Was that reservist the pilot assigned to the suit he was fighting? It was possible, and with the image of her burned into his psyche, Char really hoped she wasn't.

The door to the Komusai's bridge hissed open. Dren was seated, strapped in for descent.

"Dren," said Char, "where's Crown?"

"You'll just have to forget about him, sir," he told him.

The radio crackled from atmospheric interference, but the voice coming across was unmistakably Crown's. _"Mayday! Mayday! I can't slow down! Commander Char, help!"_

"Crown, there's nothing I can do," said Char. "You're too deep in the atmosphere for us to retrieve you." He clinched his fists, in a mix of regret and frustration. "I'm… I'm sorry Crown. You won't die in vain. That white bastard's doomed, too."

_"Commander! Commander! Aaaaahhh!"_ The private's screams were replaced by static, indicating that his radio had melted.

* * *

_Now I know what a pizza feels like_, Amuro thought. The atmospheric friction had turned the Gundam's cockpit into an oven and his shield was starting to go soft from the heat.

An explosion on his nine. The Zaku that was trapped in free-fall with him had finally disintegrated. If he didn't think fast, he would share the same fate.

The _White Base_ was right ahead. If he could just get in her wake, he'd be able to mitigate the rising temperature.

If he could just get there.

* * *

"Radar systems now online," Oscar announced.

"We've reached the ozone layer," Marker added. "Altitude forty kilometers and dropping."

Since the communications blackout, the bridge staff had all but written off the Gundam's survival. Seconds felt like minutes. Minutes like hours.

Finally, a miracle. "Mr. Bright!" Sayla said, as if all life had been drained from her body and had just returned. "The Gundam's comm line! It's alive!"

Bright stood up when he heard this. This was the best news he'd heard in what felt like an eternity.

The barriers covering the windows receded, letting in the bright morning and a view of a large ocean. On top of the starboard hangar, the mobile suit whose fate had everyone worried bald. It was flush against the hull, clinging onto it like a baby to its mother.

Bright chuckled to see that their Priority One had survived. "Well look at that," he said, a little pleased. "I do suppose I'll have to reprimand him later, though."

* * *

Amuro was out of breath, he panted like a fish out of water. The cockpit was still steamy, but nowhere near as bad as it was a few minutes ago.

The seat-belt felt like it was strangling him. He needed to get loose. Anything to help his breathing.

Off it came, and down he fell, with a loud clunk. Gravity had at last taken hold.

* * *

"The 'Trojan Horse' and the mobile suit have made contact," the Komusai driver reported.

Char frowned when he heard this. Crown died pointlessly after all and now they'd failed to achieve their primary and secondary objectives.

"Don't tell me the Federation mobile suits can handle reentry," said the aghast pilot.

"Impossible, Ermakov," said Char, "but so it seems. What's our position?"

"The Pacific Coast of North America."

"Trajectory of the 'Trojan Horse'?"

"East-southeast."

Char smirked. "Contact Commissar Garma, tell him that the Red Comet has fallen to Earth."

"Ingenious," Dren remarked. "The 'Trojan Horse' won't be able to turn around because of her descent and the whole North American Occupation Division will be ready to shoot her down."

"War's an unforgiving business," Char remarked. "You always need to be two or three steps ahead of the enemy." He looked out into the distance, where the "Trojan Horse" continued to descend, leaving a trail of white vapor in her wake. _Artesia, you had better not be on that ship.  
_

* * *

Julayla Memorial Park, mid-day. Today was shaping up to be uneventful once again.

Silver the Hedgehog didn't mind. He was stretched out on a plastic bench, staring up at the sky. A sky with a slight tint from the shield protecting the city, giving the clouds a hint of blue to them.

To be in this time period was so different from what he was used to. Even though it wasn't peacetime, it was still preferable to the hell he lived in. _So now what?_ He thought to himself. _I've got the full story on the traitor, but what am I going to do next? _

Buried so deep in his thoughts, he never noticed the footsteps that approached. "How's it going Silver?" They belonged to Larry.

"Right now, it feels like I'm trying to put a square peg in a round hole," he said. "I know we still need to keep tabs on Naugus, but my mind keeps going back to the other day with Grant."

"About Zeon?" asked Larry.

"Not just that," said Silver, "but where the fighting took place. There was never a road there, let alone a paved one."

"Can't say I've seen it before," Larry concurred. "Fulop's Ridge always had a nice view of the valley, but never a road. When I was six, Mom and Dad took me up there and we had a picnic. Weather didn't look like it was supposed to rain, but it came down buckets."

Silver laughed at the little story. "You're lucky you just rained out," he said. "My childhood was a million times worse."

"How do you think it got there?" Larry asked.

"Eggman," was the Hedgehog's immediate answer. "I know because I was there. Remember when I went to the Northern Tundra to tell Team Fighters about Sally? He panicked because we were getting close to her and he used one of those Genesis Waves. I'm thinking that not only is that road a side-effect of what he did, Zeon is, too. I don't even know what affect this had on the future."

A swath of bubbles emerged from the depths of the small pond directly ahead of the bench. The water had a glow, too. From the midst of the froth emerged a radiant ring, shining brilliantly. It floated in the air, as if held by invisible hands.

Shortly after its appearance, a shape materialized over the water. NICOLE had partially materialized and took the newly-created ring in her hand, not noticing Silver and Larry.

"NICOLE!" Silver called.

The Hedgehog had caught the AI's attention. "Hello, Silver, Larry. What are you doing out here?"

"Taking it easy, I guess," said Silver.

"What's with that Power Ring?" asked Larry. "Special project?"

"As a matter of fact, it is," NICOLE said, gliding toward the bank as her lower half stared to take shape. "Geoffrey needs one for a device in development for the treatment of the king's condition."

"What else do you know?" Silver asked.

"Nothing yet," she replied. "Sir Charles is involved with the building of it, but he seems… a bit wary."

Engines echoed. Looking around, Silver caught sight of yet another one of those strange aircraft flying above the city. "Another one," he said. "Fourth one today."

* * *

"Definitely not a robot!" The guts of the wrecked giant weren't that different from the machine the foursome had slept in, aside from being more compact. Sally's assessment had buried a mystery that had lingered since Sand Blast was levelled. "Not much left inside. Somebody must have ransacked the thing a long time ago."

"You mean that these things are vehicles?" Sonic asked.

"It does look like some kind of cockpit," said Sally. "Wouldn't try to start it up though. It's dead and cold."

"Ancient Earth seems to have been a lot more advanced than what we give it credit for," said Bunnie. "Still don't get how something capable of stuff like that lost so bad to the Xorda."

"I don't know, either," said Sonic, looking back in the direction of Red Rock. "But I want to put more mileage between us and Zeon before they send another one of those helicopters after us again. Or worse."

* * *

Beverly Hills: a high-scale suburb of Los Angeles, California, only a short drive away from Hollywood. Swimming pools, movie stars… and one of several Earthside homes of Zeon Commissar of North American Occupation Colonel Garma Zabi. The building in question was a curious convergence of Modern-style and Spanish colonial, with a clear view of the famous Hollywood sign.

In his office, the young commissar was thumbing through an AAR sent the night before. It gave him an eye-opening rush of discoveries his division had made in the past forty-eight hours alone: a lake of crude oil out in the open, several cities in the desert that weren't there before, and another location in Virginia, right off of the Blue Ridge Parkway—the last of these warranted quite a bit of attention from him the past few days. Most interesting of all were the reports of humanoid creatures in the service of an empire whose namesake was the man he'd recently captured in New Brunswick. _I suppose he wasn't just an insane old man,_ Garma thought. _Maybe Gihren can find some use for him after all._

The lasercomm went off. Someone was calling.

Setting the AAR aside, Garma answered. The image of the masked lieutenant commander on the other end brought a smile to his face. "Long time, no see," he said in a warm tone. "I heard from headquarters. What happened, Red Comet?"

"_I may have to trade that nickname for a worse one, Colonel," _said Char.

"Dozle told me you lost an entire team of Zakus," Garma went on. "A small price to pay for exposing the Feddies' Operation V."

Char didn't act like he'd been alleviated from the experience in space. _"I lost two more chasing the enemy battleship," _he continued. _"How can I face Admiral Dozle now?"_

"My brother won't fuss over something like that," said Garma, stroking his violet locks. "But that's pretty bad. Is it _that_ formidable?"

"_Would you like to see for yourself?"_ asked Char. _"I diverted her from Jaburo and forced her down over your territory. Consider this a souvenir from space. You have a chance to shine."_

"I appreciate it, Char," said the commissar. "I gladly accept it. Let's get down to business. Shall we greet her with a Gaw?"

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

Not a bad one this time, aside from a tiny bit of input regarding the manga version of Amuro's survival on HyperionGM's part this went swimmingly. The only reference I can think of that I put in here was the name of the ridge the fight between the SFF and Zeon scouts occurred on. It was named for former Archie editor Scott Fulop, who attempted to sue them in the manner Penders had, but with less success (as I discovered). But I recall the Crazy Pills-era comics ending with little strips of him sending his staff down trap doors and squashing them with heavy objects.

Now that _White Base _is on Earth it's only a matter of time before worlds collide... but no Mega Man, this time around.


	21. WHITE BASE: Out of the Frying Pan

**EFS **_**White Base**_**, Grand Canyon, Northern Arizona**

**September 23, 0079**

**1258 Hours, MST  
**

* * *

Crewmen had assembled on the bridge, silently looking at the map of the Americas projected on the floor.

Much of the continental former United States, parts of Mexico and eastern Canada, the Caribbean coast of South America, and the West Indies were highlighted in red, indicating Zeon control. The Pacific coast of South America, Central America, the former state of Michigan, and large section the western Canadian mainland had a pink-and-white overlay, signifying that they were contested zones. Everything else was highlighted bright green, for Federation territory. A white dotted line started up near the Arctic, travelling southward along the coasts of California and Mexico, before entering South America through Ecuador, stopping in north-central Brazil. A star at the end of the trail marked Jaburo, the ship's destination. This was their projected route.

Another dotted line, a red one, began to run as soon as the star appeared. This one, though, entered North America through Washington state, heading further southeast. This was the path they were currently on.

"We're in Zeon territory!" Reed said in disbelief. "How could you let this happen?! It's as if we've come begging to be captured by the enemy!"

"True," Bright admitted. "We fell right into Char's trap."

"'Trap'? You—UGH!" Reed fell to his knees in pain.

Sayla, thankfully, was right there to catch him as he went down. "Fraw Bow," she said, "Lt. Reed seems to be ill. Could you take him to sick bay?"

Fraw, putting an arm around Reed's shoulder, escorted him toward the elevator.

The bad news was soon replaced by something worse. "Enemy planes," Marker announced. "A large one and a wing!"

An image from an external camera appeared on the main screen: the unmistakable shape of a Gaw and a squadron of Dopps on their six.

"See?" said Reed, grimly feeling vindicated. "What did I tell you? Beat them back, no matter what it takes!"

Fraw Bow, not easily taken aback by the man's ravings, led him onward into the elevator.

* * *

Arms folded and with a satisfied grin on his face, Garma looked at the oddly-shaped Federation ship that had given Char so much trouble, magnified on the Gaw's main monitor. The codename she was given, "Trojan Horse" seemed all the more appropriate now that he could see her. She was officially a supply ship, based on existing data, but her firepower and armor were enough to rank her as a warship. Not only that, but she was able to fly all the way to Luna II and back on her own. The Federation was really making up for their losses in January.

"Commissar," an officer at the door announced, "Lt. Commander Char Aznable is here."

Garma turned to see the red-clad and masked ace standing before him. "Hello Char," he said, a little cocky "what happened? It's not like you to have so much trouble with a single Feddie ship."

"Must you, Garma?" Char asked. "Pardon me, _Colonel Garma Zabi, North American Forces Commissar._"

"Just call me Garma, like in our academy days." He turned his attention to the screen. "So that's the 'Trojan Horse'? A ship that not even the Red Comet himself could sink? It earns my attention."

"Even so," said Char, "I wouldn't have thought it worth your personal welcome."

"Don't be silly," Garma replied, "I came to greet _you_, not the 'Trojan Horse'. As your friend."

"I'm honored, Commissar, but please don't forget that the ship pulled off atmospheric entry unaided and also that she's heading for Jaburo with a mission of utmost importance."

Garma agreed with Char there. "I'm having its combat potential gauged on all facets. You should get some rest, recover from the space fatigue."

"I'll do just that," Char replied. "I envy you. Whoever takes that thing out would earn a Zeon Cross. Imagine: you a star general at your age."

"Thank you," said Garma, flattered. "I'm coming into my own a little sooner with your help… and my sister's. You must have her in mind as well?"

"Lady Kycilia?"

"You're giving me a chance to rise—as a man."

Char broke out laughing upon hearing this. "I suppose you could say that."

"Shut up," said Garma, running his fingers through his hair, "the men are watching."

* * *

The north ridge of the Great Canyon, a significant spot in Northamer, but still a bit out of the way for immediate help. It's beautiful, but not an ideal place for one's vehicle to break down.

It happened to the landcraft Sonic and company were in. The question was if it was done in by overheating or if that crazy maneuver to escape that helicopter yesterday led to this. It slowed to a crawl and just gently eased down on the ground.

"Oh, no!" said Sonic. "Not now! I want out of this horrible desert already!"

They popped the hood and were greeted with steam so thick you could cut it with a knife. "I got a bad feeling that this ol' girl just bit the big one," said Bunnie.

"It couldn't have been that sandstorm last night," said Tilly. "We always fitted dust filters on our machinery to prevent breakdowns."

"I'd have to say this thing was pushed over the edge with that stunt we pulled with that helicopter," said Sonic. "Now what? We walk back to Acorn?"

"So? You carried me all the way to Oil Ocean," said Sally. "We only have to go part way home now."

"Yeah," said Sonic, "but that was before we knew about Zeon and those monsters of theirs."

"What's that?" asked Tilly. "There's something on the other side of the canyon."

Something was kicking up a big cloud of dust in the distance. By the naked eye, nobody in the party could identify what was causing it. Sally had to break out a pair of electrobinoculars. "Tanks!"

"For crying out loud!" Sonic groaned. "Did these guys just wait until we found Bunnie before they sounded the bugles?"

"I don't think they're meant for us," said Sally. "Number one, they're on the wrong side of the canyon. Number two, they're heading west."

"The Sand Blasters and Beau's Legionnaires are history," he said, "where could they be off to?"

"Let's just hope that this is good news," said Tilly.

"Well I hear some bad news," Sonic retorted. "Look up."

One of those green planes with stalks on the wings.

"Those things never attack us," he noted. "I'm starting to think those are scout planes. Last time we saw one, Red Rock got stomped flat shortly after."

"Thinking they might send another one them whirlybirds after us?" Bunnie asked.

"As far as we know," said Sally, "they're looking for us. We need cover."

"Down there," said Sonic, now standing at the edge of the canyon wall.

The girls looked into the canyon itself. A picturesque vista of reds, yellows, browns, and oranges, but a long drop down. At the bottom, the silvery stream which had carved out the canyon eons ago.

"Down there?" said Tilly.

"As deep down as we can go," said Sonic. "Those Zeons would have to be bloodthirsty or crazy to send a plane down there after us. Especially in the narrower parts. We'd be harder to hit, too, if they brought in those bombers of theirs." He turned to Bunnie. "You got your jets, Bunnie. I'm sure you can give us a lift down."

Bunnie smiled. "I'd be glad to, sugar."

"Here's the plan: Matilda goes first, then Sal, then me."

Sally smirked. "My, aren't we mannered today?"

"Hey, women and children first," Sonic remarked.

* * *

"Amuro? Amuro?" Fraw Bow knocked on the door of her friend's cabin. With the knowledge that the White Base was now in Zeon airspace, everyone was on alert. Everyone that is, but Amuro. She opened the door to find the boy lying on this bed, arms behind his head, and staring at the ceiling. It was as if something was troubling him. "What's the matter?"

Amuro rolled over onto his left side, so he was facing the wall. All he would say was a simple "Nothing".

"Are you sick?" she asked, extending a hand toward him.

"I'm not."

"Mr. Bright sent me to get you," she explained. "Everyone's supposed to be on combat standby."

"Let me sleep a bit," said Amuro. "Ever since we left Side 7, I haven't had a good night's sleep."

"Would you like Sayla to give you a check-up?" Fraw asked. "She's studying to become a doc—!"

"JUST GO AWAY!"

"Amuro, this isn't like you at all!"

The boy finally faced her. "And getting in a mobile suit to kill people _is _like me?"

"That's not the point!" Fraw countered, though she understood how he felt. "So many people died and this ship's still full of orphans and refugees! Don't you feel like you ought to protect them!? I don't want you to fight either, but I'm so… scared…"

Amuro sat up. "I'm sorry, Fraw," he said. "I get what you're saying, but I feel like… like we're being used."

"Used?"

"By the Fed generals," Amuro explained. "At least that's what if feels like to me." He scrunched up, into a fetal position. "We're just bait to them," he went on, bringing his thumb closer to his mouth. "They're throwing us out here, hoping we'll just die." He closed his teeth on his thumbnail.

"Stop biting your nails," Fraw scolded. "You're reading too much into this. Everyone's having a hard time now, that's why they don't seem supportive. It doesn't mean what you do with the Gundam doesn't matter. Think about: they sacrificed Side 7 for the Gundam! My Mom and grandfather died for the Gundam! So quit lying around. Put on your uniform!"

* * *

"What the hell is this?" Reed couldn't believe what the print-out in his hand said. It was only a two-by five card, but the message had broken him: _"The _White Base _is to break through enemy lines and head for Jaburo."_

That was all Sayla got. Just that one sentence. Not a bell or a whistle to speak of.

Reed was reduced to tears after reading it. "That's it?" he screamed "No back up from Jaburo? What the hell is the brass thinking!? No wonder Luna II's barely getting by. The Federation is done for!"

While Reed sunk into a nearby seat, sobbing and swearing, the rest of the crew remained composed.

Ryu took notice of the wreck of a man when he left the elevator. "What's with him?"

"Hell if I know," said Bright.

The sergeant gave the "captain" an assuring look. "Mr. Bright, if it's just Dopps we're up against, it shouldn't be that bad. I mean, if the Gaw's carrying any Zakus."

"You think so?"

"Sure," said Ryu "if we split up the Guntanks and Guncannons and use the cliffs for cover. Unit-2's had emergency repairs. Kai and Hayato have done a bunch of sims, they're battle-ready."

"Not a bad idea," Bright remarked.

"Of course, if the Gundam stepped up, we'd really be in the clear."

The Gundam. Bright knew that getting it involved would mean getting Amuro into the cockpit. Ever since Side 7, the boy had built himself a reputation as an entitled loudmouth: something counterproductive to the ship's mission. More so now that they were smack dab in the middle of Zeon turf.

* * *

Chloe felt like she was about to wet her pants like a baby. She was only about ten yards away from the trailer, taking deep breaths over and over again. She finally began to move forward, slowly, as if every nerve in her body were struggling to get her to move. The only thing she had with her was a keyboard, and it couldn't have bogged her down that much.

Before she knew it, though, she was knocking on the door.

About twenty-to-thirty seconds later, it was answered by the male Mongoose she had seen Mina with the night before. "Hello… Chloe, I believe?"

"Yes," she said. "Er, Ms. Mongoose asked me to come?"

"Come on in," he said.

A mixture of awe and dread came over Chloe as she stepped into the trailer. A queasiness derived from extreme nervousness. She was terrified of throwing up, especially in front of someone as famous as Mina Mongoose._ I've bitten off way too much, _she thought.

And there she was, sitting on a leather couch in navy bellbottoms with white stars emblazoned on the lower legs. She looked as relaxed as someone returning from vacation, the total opposite of how poor Chloe felt. "Hello, again."

The Mouse blushed. The rest of the Knots were present, adding to her stress.

The keyboard was quickly set up on the floor.

She crouched down and brought herself into an Indian-style sitting position. From anyone else's perspective, nobody's proportions had changed. For Chloe though, she felt like the band and the manager were dwarfing her like a mountain to a worm. The age-old tactic of imagining Mina in her underwear wouldn't have any effect on the young waitress' state of mind. "W-Wh-What would you like me to play?"

"Whatever makes you feel comfortable," said Max the Monkey, the lead guitarist for the Knots.

_I don't know if I should play any of Mom's old songs_, she thought. They'd probably come off as corny. That was the most likely scenario for her: they'd hear one of those pre-Great War museum pieces and laugh. Would she even get two notes out before they give her the door? Her eyes were shut tight and her face had flushed so red with embarrassment one would be hard-pressed to find a brighter shade of the color.

"Chloe?" A gentle voice—Mina's. She'd gotten up and walked over to the keyboard. "Are you nervous?"

The Mouse didn't need to answer. Her face did all the talking.

Mina smiled warmly. "I know exactly how you feel," she told her. "I was there, too, but it was a hundred times as nerve-wracking."

"What happened?"

"I'm not entirely sure," she admitted. "Sonic signed me up for a volunteer concert performance—!"

"Sonic?" Chloe interrupted. "The hero Sonic? How did you meet him?"

"I tried to join the Freedom Fighters a long time ago," Mina explained, her recollection had some fond memories, though with a hint of pain. "It didn't work out, but right afterwards, Sonic told me he'd signed me up for an amateur concert in Knothole. I was horrified by everyone watching. I could barely move, my mouth was shut tight, and I couldn't even think of what to sing. Even though there were a bunch people watching me, Sonic was too. He had a lot of faith in me. I couldn't let him down. Next thing I knew, those spectators had gone crazy… and the rest is history."

It was hard for Chloe to fathom that someone known all around Mobius was ever in such a position. She was only Chloe Mouse the waitress at Uncle Chuck's Diner, far from a renowned songstress. Now she knew the truth: the Mina Mongoose whose music she admired for two years was once a nobody like her, having gotten into a situation she'd felt was beyond her control, and fearful of the judgment of the people watching. Not the pseudo-divinity magazines and stuff built her up as, but a Mobian no different than her.

"If I could do it," said Mina, "you can do it." She returned to the sofa.

Chloe felt a little bit better, but her nervousness still lingered. "This is a bit of an old song that Mom liked," she told the band. "I hope I don't butcher it."

A few chuckles, alongside a wink and thumbs-up from Mina.

The Mouse finally cracked a smile. A second later, the sound of an electric piano filled the trailer; it formed a melody that came off as a mesh of blues and soft rock. It had a bit of energy to it, but proceeded at a smooth, leisurely pace. She began to sing:

_After all of the battles are over_

_After all of the fighting is done_

_Will you be the one_

_To find yourself alone with your heart?_

_(Lookin' for the answers)_

_When it feels like tomorrow will never come_

_When it seems like the night will not end_

_Can you pretend_

_That you're really not alone?_

_You're out here on your own! (Lonely soldier boy…)_

_You're out here on your own! (Lonely soldier boy…)_

_Yes, I'm lonely. But are you alone? (Lonely soldier boy…)_

_With all the glory, without the joy._

_A lonely soldier boy…_

Chloe finished. Ash and the Knots were silent, their eyes fixed on the Mouse in front of them. She didn't know what to make of it. Did she just suck that bad? Maybe that folk song was too glurgy? She'd struck out in one fell swoop. The bright side being that that the only people to know of this failure would be in this room; at least she'd still have her job at the diner. "I'm sorry I didn't meet your standards," she said. "I'll go now."

As she turned to unplug the keyboard, Mach the Rabbit spoke. "Your voice is money in the bank," the drummer told her.

"You're being too nice," she said, not believing a syllable. She knew very well that how one hears their own voice is the result of an internal echo; second parties were different.

"No, seriously," said Mach. "You singing is as solid as the way you play that keyboard."

"Gotta admit," Mina added, "it'd be hard for me to do that song justice."

"It was just a hobby, really," the Mouse admitted.

Ash approached her. "Chloe," he said, "you're a natural. We'd love to have you as part of the band. Would you consider joining?"

"W-WHAT!?"

"We were considering adding a keyboard to the group," said Mina. "The way you played was like poetry."

Chloe didn't foresee any of this. The keyboard was just a hobby she'd picked up during her childhood in Furville, she'd gotten good remarks from her mother about it, but most mothers were like that. She wouldn't even be there if she hadn't gotten so nervous and blurted out that she wanted to jam with Mina. She played for fun, but music was Mina's career. She didn't even expect a one of the Knots to like her playing. "Can you give me a day to think about it?" she asked. "I'll come back tomorrow."

Chloe loaded up the keyboard and left. Nobody in the trailer was able to see a tear welling up in the Mouse's eye as she walked out the trailer.

She was worried again, but her reasons were different. _How am I going to break this to Uncle Chuck?  
_

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

Didn't I tell you that Reed was going to be a bundle of gumdrops and peppermints? LOL

Once again, HyperionGM and SonicEvan have been very helpful in terms of quality control and input for the Mobian-related bits. The Gundam stuff, as usual, was fairly easy apart from trying to translate static panels to text.

\+ In the original 1979 anime, one of the staffers seems to have had a bit of trouble with US Geography. For example, New York is called "New Yark", but that error can be chalked up to Engrish (New York → ニューヨーク → Nyuuyooku → New Yark). Strangely, the Grand Canyon (グランド・キャニオン, "Gurando Kyanion") was called the "Great Canyon" (グレート・キャニオン, "Gureeto Kyanion") and it wasn't corrected for the English dub. Ironically, the name Great Canyon would be used for the landform's future incarnation in the Archie series. Kinda funny that way.

\+ The song Chloe sings is "Lonely Soldier Boy" from the _Genesis Climber Mospeada_ section of _Robotech_. I'm really not much of a lyricist, but I thought the song would have been appropriate for what's about to happen. Say what you will about that Frankensteinian amalgamation, it was perhaps my first bit of exposure to Real Robot mecha.


	22. WHITE BASE: Garma Strikes

**EFS **_**White Base**_**, Grand Canyon, Northern Arizona**

**September 23, 0079**

**1408 Hours, MST  
**

* * *

The white, equine-shaped vessel clashed against the earth colors of the Grand Canyon. She was able to get into the depression, but her size limited her from going too deep down. The fact that her keel was raking against a spire of rock was a reminder of the tight squeeze she was having to pull off.

The whole ship shook. Even though everyone was okay, Reed acted like the grind had physically hurt him.

"We're taking the weathering of the rocks into account against hull strength," Mirai reported from the helm. "We're quite alright, sir!"

Reed didn't seem to think so.

Bright, however, was more concerned about the welcoming committee behind them. "The Gaw has us pinned down," he noted. "We've no choice but to spew out Minovsky particles and use the terrain to our advantage."

"Bright," said Reed, in a tone suggesting distress. "We'll never get through a weaving ravine with an amateur at the helm! If we wreck this ship, it's all over!" No sooner had he said this did he see another stone column at one o'clock.

The ship turned to port, but not fast enough to avoid the outcropping.

"I can't take it anymore!" Reed whined, as he rose from his chair.

"Lieutenant Reed," Bright said, firmly, "please stay seated."

"Gimme the captain's seat," the flustered Reed demanded. "I'm taking command!"

"Sir, please sit down."

**"Are you ignoring the order of your superior officer!?"**

Even though Reed had raised his voice, the young officer stood by his guns. "Captain Paolo gave me command of this ship until we reach Jaburo!" he told him. "He said that the Gundam and the refugees are my responsibility… or did Commandant Wakkein ordered you to install yourself as captain."

Reed shut up. Wakkein didn't allow that.

The argument was almost immediately followed by a loud, electric whistle. The Zeons were about to make their move.

"See?" said Reed in a smug, but macabre tone. "All that hiding for nothing!"

Bright ignored his pessimism, and picked up his phone. "Flight deck! Is Amuro there?"

The answer received wasn't the one he wanted. _"No, sir. The Gundam is ready, but he's not here."_

Bright turned to the communications panel. "Sayla, call Amuro's cabin and see if he's there."

Sayla opened a line to the cabin, as instructed but the image of Fraw Bow filled the window. "Fraw Bow," she said, "where's Amuro? The enemy's about to attack!"

_"He's in here,"_ said Fraw. "But he says he's not going to fight anymore."

"WHAT!?" Bright could hear Fraw Bow clearly and he didn't believe what she'd just said. He rushed over to Sayla's side and joined in the call. "Listen, Amuro, the enemy is about to attack! Get to your station!"

Amuro finally showed his face. He did not look a bit happy. _"Fight, fight, fight! That's all we do!"_ he complained. _"How much of a break am I going to get after this sortie?"_

Reed laughed. "There's a captain worthy of respect!"

Bright hurried toward the elevator, blood boiling. _Dammit, Amuro! _he thought. _Why aren't you doing your job?  
_

* * *

The call from the bridge had ended a few seconds ago. As soon as the screen had gone blank, Amuro had reclined again and faced the wall. There was no lie in his voice. "I'm sorry, Fraw Bow," he said. "I can't help it. I'm scared, too." He rolled over, to face his friend and "nanny". "Go ahead and laugh," he kept going, "but it's true." His eyes had the look of a man who had seen a horrible murder a few yards away from him. "When I entered the atmosphere, I couldn't slow down. I looked below me to find the _White Base_'s hatch shut tight. So I accelerated to catch up and hung onto the deck, but I was so scared. Not just of getting burned up, but being left alone with no one else there." He turned away from Fraw again and covered his face as if he were ashamed of something. Everyone on the ship was expecting him to be some sort of hero because of the Gundam, but after all that he was just a coward.

"Amuro," said Fraw, "you were never alone. Everyone was worried sick about your we were praying you were alive—even Mr. Bright!"

Amuro finally peeked from behind his palms.

"So come on," Fraw said, encouragingly. "You have to, for all of us."

It didn't work, though. He turned away again. "I know that! I just… don't want to do something so scary again."

BAM!

The sound of the door opening startled Fraw, but Amuro took his time to look that way. Bright was standing in the middle of the doorframe and he was pretty steamed. When the boy saw his CO there, he gave the "captain" an ugly scowl.

"Amuro," Bright thundered "why the hell are you not doing your duty!?"

Contempt filled the boy when he heard this. "Duty? What _is _my duty? Who got to decide that and when?" The longer he went on with his tirade, he gradually got louder. "I don't have any, I'm not a soldier! I only fight because I chose to, not because of some arbitrary order! If you want to fight so bad, why don't you fly the Gundam?"

"Get up." As soon as Bright said this, he'd nabbed the boy by collar and dragged him onto his feet.

"Would you cut that out, that hurts," said Amuro.

"If I knew how to fly it, I'd be out there right this second," Bright told him. "Why would I bother asking somebody like you?"

Amuro didn't feel a shred of intimidation from his CO. As far as he was concerned, you could lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. He voiced this sentiment bluntly: "I don't see why I should do it just because I can!"

SMACK! A sudden slap from the lieutenant sent the boy stumbling away.

"Y-You hit me!"

Bright didn't feel sorry at all. "Yeah, I hit you," he admitted. "So what? It must be great to you! All you need to do is bitch and moan!"

"Do you really think I'm that cheap!?" Amuro he said, offended.

He received another hard slap, which knocked him on his butt.

"You've got no right!" Amuro shouted. "Not even my own father hit me before!"

"Well there's your problem," Bright said, bluntly. "Nobody ever went through life without taking some hits!"

Even after being smacked around, Amuro wasn't going to relent. Bright may be an officer, but he wasn't going to take it. "Now I'm never gonna do it!" Amuro shrieked. "Nobody's making me get in that Gundam again!"

Bright frowned. The boy wouldn't cooperate. He was as angsty and uppity on Earth as he was in space. "Fine," he said, coldly, "suit yourself. As you are, you're just a worm. With all the talent you'd previously displayed, you could have given Char a run for his money. But so much for that." He stormed out of the cabin, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

Thirteen Dopps soared above the ancient gully. It was hard for Garma not to take in the beauty of it all, he and his men weren't there to go sightseeing. They knew what they were looking for—her hull would stick out like a sore thumb.

His radio crackled. _"Commissar, this is Gevil. The 'Trojan Horse' has been sighted heading east at low speed! Estimated position: 36.1, -112.1."_

"Copy, captain," Garma replied. "Swarm her for three minutes and trade passes with Holtz Squadron. The attack pattern is a counterclockwise circle, to force her northward. The Koegel regiment is at Walhalla, it'll be smooth sailing from that point. If it gets messy, radio Captain Holtz immediately."

_"Yes, sir."_

"Engage," he ordered, "and happy hunting." He switched to his frequency. "Garma Squadron, Holtz Squadron, enter attack formation. The Gevil boys are going to hit the 'Horse' for three minutes, followed by Holtz, and Garma."

Thirteen of the Dopps were accelerating toward the _White Base _from six-thirty on high. By the time Oscar had announced the incoming attack, Bright had just sat back down in his chair. He patched a line directly to Ryu's Guntank via his phone. "Ryu, we've got a squadron advancing toward the stern," he said. "Are you all set?"

_"This baby's purring like a kitten,"_ the sergeant answered.

"We're counting on you," said Bright, with a little bitterness in his voice, "Amuro's no good. The ship will fire a barrage as she advances."

_"Roger, drop us first on the right bank,"_ said Ryu. _"Me and Kim in the 'tanks and Kai in his 'cannon will take the right side. Job and Alvin's 'cannons and Black's 'tank will handle the left. Let's do it, Corporal Kim!"_

_ "Aye-aye!"_ Chuck Kim, assigned to the Guntank-2 cockpit, replied.

Ryu's voice turned stern. _"And Kai, don't you get it going on your own this time!"_

_"Yeah, yeah, yeah!"  
_

* * *

The hangar hatches opened. Ryu and Hayato's Guntank-3 rolled out and eased down onto a ridge overlooking the south bank of the Colorado River with the aid of the vehicle's rockets between its tracks. Kim and Archer's Guntank-2 touched down with similar ease, but the descent of Kai's Guncannon-2 was far from graceful, it fell flat on the riverbank, leaving a huge scar in the sand.

Kai was alright, but he could barely straighten up his suit before the first wave of Dopps came rushing toward him, Vulcans blazing.

Hayato, instinctively fired a volley from Unit-3's main cannons. His shot missed and impacted against the canyon wall, kicking up a big cloud of black smoke.

"Don't fire the main guns, Hayato!" Ryu yelled up the shaft behind him. "We'll lose visibility!" Right now they'd have to rely on the BOP guns mounted as the Guntank's hands. Not as ideal as the suit's artillery, but they worked well enough to shred an incoming Dopp into scrap.

The green fighters swarmed the _White Base_ like gnats around a horse. Fire erupted on the river-carved stone and in the air. Even with the ship's CIWS joining in the fight, it seemed to be anyone's game.

The cabin shook. The enemy had gotten a decent hit in on the ship.

Unfortunately for Fraw, Amuro was still scrunched up on his bed, feeling sorry for himself. "Amuro, pull yourself together!" she yelled. "If you won't take pride in what you do, then I hate you!"

She turned away, and rushed for the door. No sooner had she gotten into the hallway did she feel something grab her arm from behind. Or rather someone. "Fraw Bow!"

She jerked to break Amuro's grip. "Let me go! Even I can shoot a gun! I'll go and fight, too!"

"It's okay, Fraw," he said, somewhat at ease but still a bit down. "You don't have to. Whether I like it or not, I'm a man." He zipped up his collar and headed for the elevator.

He'd finally come around.

* * *

Hayato laughed as Guntank-3's BOPs reduced another Dopp to scrap, not due to a murderous thrill, but out of wonder. "You're the boss, Ryu!"

"Didn't I tell ya?" said the sergeant. "Dopps ain't nothin'!"

Shortly after that remark, the Dopps attacking seemed to clear out of the area. Five or six, in all—less than half the amount that initially attacked. _"Are they giving up?"_ Kai radioed. _"Please tell me they are."_

"Their shift's over," Ryu remarked, "but there's more where they came from!"

A fresh new flight came in from the same direct the previous had come, same number and formation as if nothing had changed.

* * *

The faint sounds of skirmish echoed through the many ravines, eventually reaching a small cavern inside which three Robotnik War vets and a surviving DEL member had taken refuge in.

"You hear that?" Sally asked.

"Yeah," said Sonic. Guns, explosions, aircraft—as if battle was going on in the distance. "Either Zeon's out doing maneuvers or they're trying to get rid of somebody."

"What's the plan, sugar-hog?" Bunnie asked.

"You got a flashlight built into your finger, right?" the Hedgehog asked.

"Couldn'ta reached Sand Blast without it," she admitted.

"We're gonna lie low till dark," Sonic explained. "We'd be harder for planes to find then. We go a little bit further east, stop for a little sleep, and in the morning, we bolt for Acorn."

"But what about the bombs?" asked Tilly.

"I don't think Tails and Uncle Chuck would mind disarming them," he said, tussling her head with a smile. She had no hair or fur to speak of, but she had it coming.

"Those explosions aren't that far away," said Sally. "Hope they aren't heading our way."

"Ditto," said Sonic. Even though they had more than enough muscle to get out of a cave-in caused by a missile or something, it would still really suck to be caught in the crossfire.

Or worse.

* * *

"Oh look," said Reed, annoyed. "More Dopps. At this rate, we're all going to die within the next hour, providing they don't break out the Zakus."

Bright was on his last nerve. After Amuro showed his ass a little while ago, he was not in the mood to listen to Reed's defeatism. "Lieutenant, shut up!"

"Why?" the older officer asked. "This is a brand-new ship and the Gundam is AAA priority hardware… and we've got Zeeks on every side! We're dead men walking!"

A little voice disrupted the situation: "Everybody! Everybody! Lunch is here!" A Fraw Bow and the three children she had charge over left the elevator with a cart loaded with refrigerated sandwiches, chopped fruit in plastic cups, and bottle of juice and water.

This wasn't what Reed wanted. He wanted a miracle, not food. "Shut up! This is no time to eat!" he screamed.

Little Kikka broke out into tears when Reed snapped at her and she wailed louder than any explosion outside. The two others, boys, clutched the sides of the private out of fear.

"Would somebody shut her up!?" Reed yelled.

"Fraw Bow," said Bright, rubbing the sides of his head like he had a headache, "take the kids off the bridge." He was getting one, but Kikka's crying had nothing to do with it.

"Yes, sir," she said.

They left, leaving behind no food, but a sharp "Meanie!" from Kikka.

Bright's phone rang. The button that lit up on it signified the flight deck. "What's up, Omur?" Bright asked.

"Amuro's just shown up," said Omur, "but…"

"But what?"

"He wants to equip the shoulder cannon," he explained. "He thinks a physical weapon would work better for surface combat versus beam weaponry."

Bright grimaced. He sat out the Luna II skirmish because he felt the Gundam wasn't ready to fight, almost got killed earlier that day because he had more Vulcan ammo, and now this. Not twenty minutes ago, he didn't want to fight anymore, now he was trying to size up a battle on his own again. "Do as he says, but hurry." He hung up. _That Amuro…  
_

* * *

A lucky missile hit Guntank-2 in the belly. It was enough to send the unfortunate suit rolling down the bluff and into the Colorado as a flaming wreck.

This wave of Dopps didn't take quite as bad of beating as the previous one did, but it broke off and left in as orderly a fashion as they did. Like before, another squadron of equal size was there to replace it.

Kai was lucky enough to Vulcan a fighter and send it spiraling into the river. After that, he made a direct hit on another with his beam rifle.

"Kai's batting a thousand!" Hayato shouted. "It hasn't been a minute and he just scored two back-to-back kills!"

"That's good, at least," said Ryu. "Just wish Kim and Brian didn't kick the bucket. If these jokers keep coming like this, we're gonna run out of ammo!" A big hump of rock was in Guntank-3's way, they couldn't go forward anymore. "We've hit a dead end, Hayato. We're gonna have to detour on the plateau.

Guntank-3 lifted off the ground, rising higher above the canyon floor. Climbing like this wasn't the unit's forte, but it could do it. It reached the top of the cliff, but at the top, Hayato and Ryu were greeted with an unwelcome sight on the plateau on the north side of the canyon: Magella Attacks—at least twenty of them!

A few Magellas tried to fire on Guntank-3, but the distance hindered their shots accuracy and the missed. Hayato was able to fire a salvo that actually connected, as Ryu backed up to evade fire.

Ryu radioed the bridge. "Mr. Bright, those Dopps are trying to force the ship toward a shitload of Magellas on a plateau ahead of you. Might wanna get the main gun ready!"

* * *

So far, Holtz Squadron had lost a third of its men, Gevil half, and Garma's own somewhere in between.

A small price for the commissar to pay for a such a victory as this. He could already see Koegel's Magellas on Walhalla Plateau not too far ahead. There was already an exchange of fire between them and a single Guntank on the opposite side. Even though the artillery mech's range was slightly superior to that of the panzers' at that distance, its crew would have to be crazy to try to take all of them on at once. "Garma-2," he said over the radio "take Garma-4 and give that Guntank a pink slip."

Immediately, something was deployed from the starboard hangar of the "Trojan Horse". Another mobile suit, wielding a bazooka in its right hand with a second seemingly on its left shoulder.

But those features weren't the first thing he'd noticed. The first thing Garma saw was that it was _white_. It had to be the suit that gave Char so much trouble in space.

It took to the air as if it were another Dopp. Garma-10 had come too close to it and its cockpit was snipped off as if with were a dead flower.

Three other friendlies were blown to ribbons by its head-mounted Vulcans in just a few seconds.

"Captain Gevil, are you still there?"

_"Yes, Commissar."_

"Char's white mobile suit just came out of the 'Trojan Horse'," he said. "Have your boys join up with my squadron and concentrate all firepower on it. Holtz boys, keep out for the time being."

Gevil-7 got dealt a bad hand as it took a bazooka shell to the left wing. The fiery puff melted the majority of the plane that didn't break off on impact. Afterward, the white suit was in the air once again and kicked the cockpit off of Gevil-1.

* * *

The blasts were a lot louder now. Swallowing her pride, Sally hugged the wall of the cave until she got the mouth. To her left, two of those green fighters were struggling against something she couldn't see. Something on top of the cliff that the rock obscured.

To her right was something more incredible: a big machine in the shape of a human or Overlander with some kind of cannon on its shoulder and another in its right hand fighting another swarm of those planes. It wasn't one of those Zeon machines, it was mostly white with a torso colored red, blue, and yellow. Another giant was nearby, also shooting at the planes, but was red with a white head.

The white giant fired off a burst of gunfire from its head, shooting down another plane, before turning to fire its bazooka at another.

The sound of the blast made the princess recoil and rush into the cave. "Sonic, Bunnie, Tilly, the battle's right outside!"

"Think we don't know that, Sal?" Sonic said with a raised voice.

"Listen, there's another two of those giant machines out there and they're fighting a bunch of Zeon planes!"

Sonic wasn't in any position to doubt Sally, but he had to run out to see for himself.

Sure enough, he saw the white giant toss its bazooka aside and the powerful rockets in its back burned brightly as it lifted off. Only two words left his mouth when he witnessed this: "Holy shit." The wonder didn't even stop there. That red goliath across the river had something on the right side of its chest. The Hedgehog immediately recognized the anchor-like insignia, though it was white and the letters read "EFSF" this time. Again, he said it: "Ho. Ly. **Shit**!"

* * *

Even though they'd splashed the two Dopps, it was still a bitch for Hayato and Ryu to get a clean shot at those Magellas. They'd only managed one successful salvo so far: their first one.

Their spirits soared though, as the Gundam rose out of the canyon, with something attached to its shoulder, like its own artillery gun and fired a shot into a Magella, scrapping it in one blast.

"Well looka here, Amuro finally decided to show," Ryu said with a laugh. "Guess Bright told him about the ambush on the plateau!"

"I'm not complaining," said Hayato.

The Gundam fired into the formation again and again, one-shotting the panzers with it in the same manner the beam rifle took out the Zakus. Soon the magazine was depleted, but it still had a beam saber bundled with this attachment. It proceeded to use that to fight the remainder and chase them away as they retreated.

* * *

Garma's heart sank to his stomach. He'd come so close to sinking the "Trojan Horse", but everything went south as soon at white one came out. His men fought bravely and died, scoring some good hits in the process and even taking out a Guntank. He watched in horror as Koegel's panzers fled Walhalla in disarray as the white mobile suit attacked with its glowing pink sword.

The unmistakable voice of Char crackled over the radio. _"Garma, retreat! You see why I said it's worth a Cross? You fought well enough, but to keep going is pointless. Fall back!"_

The commissar's pride wouldn't have it. "Don't you give me orders, Char," he said. "I outrank you!" He turned his Dopp toward the white titan on the plateau, accelerating full-tilt, Vulcans firing away.

The attack seemed to have attracted the suit's attention, as it turned and charged at the plane with its weapon. Garma dodged, but his stunt cost him half of his starboard wing. He could still fly, but he was drawing the line now. He turned about and flew back toward the Gaw. "This is Garma, open the hatch. My wing's been hit." No reply. "Gaw, come in!"

* * *

The Gundam returned to the hangar. Fraw was right there, waiting to congratulate Amuro for saving everyone once again.

The boy exited the mobile suit, looking for all the world like a man who hadn't slept in an entire year. A virtual zombie, seemingly devoid of emotion. He looked at Fraw straight in the eye. His expression wasn't happy, sad, or angry. It was as blank as a clean sheet of paper.

He kept going, straight for his cabin. The walk felt like it was taking an eternity.

The second he reached his door, the came a loud cheer. Katz, Letz, and Kikka had come barreling down the corridor with a cart loaded with juice bottles, pie, and other stuff. Haro was with the trio, bouncing along.

Kikka was the first to speak. "Y'know what? All us kids got together and we baked a pie and we're gonna share it with everyone!"

"Yeah, and we've got soda, juice, and candy," Letz added.

"Let's celebrate, Amuro," said Katz. "You won today!"

_"Celebrate-Amuro-Celebrate-Amuro!"_ Haro beeped.

Amuro wasn't having any of this festivity. He didn't want to heart any of their feelings, he just wasn't in the mood for much of anything right now. In a tearful-sounding voice, he spoke: "Just… leave me alone, okay?"

He closed the door. He could hear Kikka call him a party pooper through it, but he paid the little girl no mind. He just collapsed on his bed, still in his normal suit, completely bereft of energy.

* * *

Marble Canyon: the north end of the Grand Canyon, near the Arizona-Utah line. It was only the middle of the afternoon, but it felt like dusk after all that happened that day. Nevertheless, they'd survived, despite Reed's doomsaying.

The ship had settled atop a large mesa for the remaining mobile units to return to the ship. It was a victory, perhaps, but a bittersweet one. The AAR confirmed it: still stuck in the middle of a Zeon zone, so there was nowhere to dock for repairs; Chuck Kim and Brian Lucado were killed when Guntank-2 was destroyed; Guntank-3 had suffered bad splash damage from those Magellas; engine output was reduced to below 30%, meaning reduced elevation and speed. Still, it could have been worse: Amuro could have still acted like a spoiled brat. They'd definitely be in worse shape if it came to that.

Bright's thoughts returned to that message from earlier that Jaburo sent. The one telling them they couldn't send any support and that they should break through the enemy lines. He was starting to see why Reed broke down crying like a baby and swearing like a sailor that day. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad as he painted the picture, but it was still pretty bad.

POM!

A cloud of smoke appeared over the ravine, about a mile downriver. A distress flare?

* * *

There was no warm blood on the Gaw's bridge when the young commissar was there; he was reserving his fiercest bit of wrath for the Major in charge of the Gaw. Garma held a communications circuit in his right hand, one which somehow became free from its socket. With the circuit out, nobody could contact the Gaw. He violently slung it onto the floor. "How did you idiots fail to notice that this had come completely unplugged? This goes beyond shoddy maintenance. The penalty isn't going to be light, Panteleev, so watch yourself." He shifted his gaze to the red-clad lieutenant commander to his left; he wasn't off the hook either. "Char, you could clearly see my status via the monitor. Why didn't you turn the Gaw around and aid my pickup?!"

"I was afraid that doing so would hurt your pride," said Char. "Giving your piloting skills, I didn't doubt you'd make it back in one piece and I wasn't prepared to mar your record by offering trivial relief."

It was good enough for the commissar. "I see. Forgive me for losing my temper."

"I'm just glad you understood, Garma."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

Would you believe I didn't need any input this time aside from one detail from Hyperion regarding mobile suit decals?

Mostly follows the first attack by Garma in the manga verbatim, but starts to go off on a slight tangent after Kim bit the big one (RIP, Kim. Nobody knows who you are.). Not much to say apart from that I got through this over the course of an afternoon (I really didn't expect that!).

Next time, **history.**


	23. Contact

**EFS **_**White Base**_**, Grand Canyon, Northern Arizona**

**September 23, 0079**

**1755 Hours, MST  
**

* * *

Bright watched the boxy shape of the Gunperry approach the mesa from the bridge. They hadn't been gone very long, whoever fired off that flare must have been very cooperative for this to have gone so quickly.

Sayla put Ryu, in the craft's cockpit, on the main screen for Bright.

"Ryu, were you able to find the source of the flare?" he asked.

_"I did," _he replied. _"But you wouldn't believe it if I told you over the lasercomm. It's one of those things you need to see to believe."_

Kai was with him. _"Think things suck with us being a refugee daycare?" _he asked. _"Well now the Furries are coming!" _He was every bit as snarky as ever, even though the events of the day left him without a smirk.

Ryu gave his co-pilot a cold glare.

"Kai, I don't want to hear any of your crap right now," said Bright, completely tapped for energy. "Listen, I'll come out and meet you. I'll be there in a moment." The transmission ended. Sayla and Mirai joined Bright as he left for the elevator. He faced Reed, still in his chair, slouching. "Will you join us, Lieutenant Reed?"

The only thing Reed moved was his mouth. "You kids go on ahead," he told them. "I need some rest."

None of the trio liked the man's remark. After vomiting out so many woe-is-me's all afternoon, it was no wonder he was so tired. Amuro would have a perfectly good excuse to be exhausted, but not Reed.

* * *

The Gunperry slowly descended onto the top of the mesa, kicking up a cloud of dust as it touched down.

Bright, Hayato, Sayla, and Mirai had gathered before the resting craft. With a hiss, its long doors slowly opened like a drawbridge.

What was inside the Gunperry took them by surprise: four colorful creatures, roughly the size of human children. Weirdly enough, they all had the traits of animals and some had metallic limbs.

They all slowly approached the stunned humans, sheepishly.

One of them, a blue-furred thing with spiky quills and little gloves and shoes raised its hand. Its mouth moved and a sound came out: "Um, hi?"

Bright couldn't think of what to say, given the situation. Talking animal people that could walk on two legs? It was like a cartoon come to life or something. "Hello?"

The quilled creature looked like he was stuck in a dry block of cement with six machine guns aimed at his face. He couldn't keep going.

Another one of that group, one with red hair, brown fur, and matching blue boots and vest whispered something into the blue one's ear. Whatever it was calmed him down. "Forgive my friend here," she said with utmost decorum. "I am Princess Sally Alicia Acorn, however outside the boundaries of my country, Nature reigns supreme and titles such as mine are useless. These are my friends, Sonic the Hedgehog—whom you've met, Bunnie D'Coolette, and Matilda the Armadillo."

Bright, by this point, had collected himself much faster than the Hedgehog (the she identified the blue thing as). "I am Lieutenant Junior Grade Bright Noa, Earth Federation Space Forces."

The Hedgehog, Sonic, finally spoke more than one syllable. "Thank you so much, dude—er, sir! We've been trying to get away from those Zeon guys for the past few days without any idea of how to fight them."

"How do you know about Zeon?" asked Sayla. They'd never seen them before, so them knowing about Zeon was a new mystery.

"Not on purpose, believe me," said Sonic. "We didn't even know they existed until a few days ago." He gave them a brief synopsis of everything: a city called El Paso, the search for Bunnie, Beauregard's assassination, the destruction of Sand Blast and Red Rock, and especially those green Cyclopes with pink eyes.

"Those are Zakus," Bright explained. "They're Zeon's standard mobile suits."

"The heck's a mobile suit?" asked Bunnie. "Why'd you need 'em anyway?"

"They're weapons," he explained. "Zeon pioneered them some years before the war started and we never took the technology seriously… and paid a terrible price for not doing so."

Another voice joined in. "Now how's about we ask you a few questions of our own?" Kai was there. Seemed to had spent a tiny bit of time with him when they got picked up: he rolled his eyes when he heard his voice. "First off, what the hell are you and how did you learn to talk?"

"We're Mobians," said Sally. "We don't exist at your point in time."

"Our point in time?" Bright asked. "What do you mean?"

"That's a long story in itself," said Sonic, "but if you think we're real Mr. Shiny, you'll believe us."

Bright raised an eyebrow at the name. "Shiny?"

"But you still haven't told us how can you talk," said Kai.

"Oh, you don't know?" said Sonic. "You see, when you're a baby, your Mom and Dad talk to you in a funny voice, trying to get you to repeat—!"

"Stop it," said Bright. "Today's been bad enough as it is." It was bad enough that Amuro gave him such a hard time that afternoon, Sonic was already shaping up to be a second Kai.

"I second that," said Sally. "What we're trying to do is get back to home in New Mobotropolis. It's about a day away to the east, in a place called Goldwater Valley."

_East,_ Bright thought, _that would take us further inland. I don't even want to imagine the spasms Reed would go through if he learned that._

"Listen," said Bunnie, "we know the Zeons gave y'all the business today, but we would gladly give you a stopover there to fix up your ship a little. Our friends are mighty handy."

"Never heard of a Goldwater Valley," said Mirai "do you have any coordinates?" It was a bit of a weird question to ask, but "east" was too vague.

"I've memorized it ever since the capitol was moved there," she said. "38.5, -78.5."

"You know it like that?" a surprised Bright asked.

"We've had our share of missions taking us away from home," said Sally.

"I don't know how else to say this," said Sonic, bluntly, "but we need all the help we can get going home. The four of us can't deal with Zeon all by ourselves. Dr. Eggman was enough of a pain in the ass as it was, but since he's vanished—!"

Kai broke out laughing. "Eggman? What kind of a name is Eggman? Does he have a sidekick called Toastberg or Waffleton?"

Air hissed through Sonic's teeth. "Shut up! This is serious."

"How can you take a guy seriously if he has a name like 'Eggman'?" the violet-haired teen remarked. "Sounds like a name a five-year-old made up!"

"Dude, if you don't shut the fuck up right now, I am gonna punch your balls out through your ass!"

Kai raised both hands and shook them mockingly. "Oooh, guess I'd better run before the big scary Hedgehog thing goes medieval on me!" He wasn't taking Sonic seriously, though he did leave. Nobody seemed devastated that he was walking away.

"Does that fella always run his mouth like that?" asked Bunnie.

"Sadly," Sayla answered.

At that moment, a little ease came over Bright. Even though Sonic was like Kai in the sarcasm department, he knew when to draw the line.

Nonetheless, how was he going to explain his ship turning into a zoo?

* * *

The Bottom of the Barrel Bar and Grill: one of Mobius' roughest spots and a magnet for the seediest characters imaginable. It was originally in the Robo Hobo Jungle—a large junkyard reserved for Dr. Robotnik's discarded creations. Since the retired Ixis Wizard Mammoth Mogul acquired the establishment, he moved it to another ex-Robotnik establishment he'd bought, Casino Night. The saloon-like front appeared to have been grafted to the front of the casino, swing-doors and all, as did the interior.

Said swing-doors opened, as Sapper the Mole stepped inside and approached the bar. Relaxing, though melancholic piano jazz filled the air and the patrons were sparse. Getting service wouldn't be bad at all. "Blue Kahuna," he ordered, "heavy on… the lime." He didn't notice it, but a different robot was tending the bar: red-and-black, like some kind of ball that opened, small blue slits for eyes, a glowing "grin" of a mouth and a thin body with spherical joints. "You're not TK-421."

"TK-421 was shut down today for maintenance, he's also been reassigned to security," it said. "My name is SA-55 Orbot, I'm the new bartender. My counterpart IDI-07 Cubot and I started work yesterday." He hovered over to the shelf to fetch a bottle of vodka.

"You don't look like a Kintobor creation," he noted.

"We weren't," the robot answered. "Dr. Eggman made us."

"Eggman?" Sapper was a little off guard when he heard this, but not entirely surprised all the same. "What happened? The bastard throw you out because you couldn't kill the Freedom Fighters and Mogul took you in?"

The door to the kitchen swung open and another robot hovered out with an order pad. It had skinny limbs like Orbot, but had a yellow-and-black paint job and was boxier. "Welcome to da Triple-Bee Gee!" it said, with the voice of a young Brooklyn woman. "Would you like a menu?"

"Uh, no," said Sapper. "I'll have a Fire Alarm Burger, no sides."

"Gotcha."

"I take it you're Cubot?" the merc asked.

"Yes I am."

He was able to pull the threads together. "Orbot and I were just talking—uh, mixed, not stirred, Orb—he says you used to work for Eggman. What happened?"

"Oh, you wouldn't believe it!" the yellow robot raved. "Dese guys called Zeon blew da Death Egg out of da sky and den bombed it to kingdom come! It's still fuzzy, bow it happened, but we were all thrown out like junk. We got outta there as soon as da coast was clear and it took a long time to get here—hovering, hitchhiking, you name it. Don't know where all dese new cities and countries came from: Maine, New Yark, Ohiya, Mitchigan…"

"Can't say I've ever heard of any of those," said Sapper, "but I've gone through places I never knew existed on my way up here. That white-out last week probably had a hand in it."

"Here's your drink." Orbot presented his patron with his cocktail in a tall glass: a turquoise beverage on the rocks, garnished with a lime wedge. "It was Dr. Eggman who caused that white-out. He used a Chaos Emerald to generate another Genesis Wave. Sonic and several Freedom Fighters had infiltrated the Death Egg."

It had a tart taste to it, as Sapper liked it. "Why am I not surprised?" He'd heard the story about Sonic's victory over Eggman at the end of Robotnik War II. He let him live. "None of this would have happened if Hero Boy had just killed him there."

"It gets crazier," Cubot kept gushing. "Toins there's other universes and the Doc got hooked up with a scientist from one. Dey built another Death Egg and made it look like a skull. Den day turned alla Sonic's friends inta robots and he teamed up with a robot boy and—!"

"AW! SHADDAP!" someone yelled from a table near the corner. It was a purple weasel with a long tooth. "An hour ago, you sounded serviceable. Now that you've shorted again, I'm thinking of doing some rewiring and I don't know nothing about electric."

"Who the hell are you, and what's your problem?" asked Sapper.

"Nack," the flustered patron growled, his face pink from clearly one drink too many. "Everyone knows who I am. World fffffamous bounty hunter."

"I can smell the beer in your breath from all the way over here," Sapper said, a bit disgusted.

"Look, mate," he said, stumbling forward, "I'm not as think as you drunk I am."

"You don't say?" the Mole said, sarcastically. "Well if you're so famous, how come I've never heard of you?" He took another gulp of his Kahuna. He turned to Cubot. "Might wanna run that order to the kitchen."

"You're putting me on," Nack slurred. "How about all the times I tussled with the Freedom Fighters? Robotnik and Eggman both hired me. I once caught Sonic, y'know."

"Fighting the Freedom Fighters isn't much of an accomplishment," said the assassin, "but then there's the fact that you actually worked at the behest of those two monsters."

"A job's a job."

"That's my philosophy, too," Sapper retorted, "but my standards aren't as nonexistent as yours."

"And with all due respect," said Orbot, "all those incidents with the Freedom Fighters were… failures."

"Shut yer trap, ya bloomin' paperweight!"

Sapper gave a curious look at the robot barman when it revealed this info. "You know, Nack," he said, after taking another drink, "for someone who bills himself as the deadliest hired gun around, you sure are incompetent."

"The old gang would say the same thing," he said, "if I didn't poison their food."

"What a rep," the Mole remarked. "Not only are you inept and unprincipled, you're a coward, too. I'm not giving you any complements."

That got under the fanged sniper's skin. He charged forward, arm and fist cocked for a John Wayne punch. It was never thrown; Sapper jumped up and kicked Nack hard in the chin. He went off his feet, flying backward a short ways, before landing on his back, out cold. About a second later, a stream of fluid arced from the unconscious Weasel's crotch.

"And you can't even hold your water, either."

Two SWATbots dragged the out-of-commission Weasel out of the bar, his tail drawing a streak of urine toward the swing doors.

"Sorry, about the mess," said the hitman, as coldly as his last remark. The burger came, with jalapeno and banana pepper chips baked into the patty. "Just one more Kahuna, the same way." _This is all your fault Sonic. The world's changed forever and it's all your fault.  
_

* * *

Reed had already passed out from exhaustion. Today alone, he could have probably out-complained every refugee in the living block. It wouldn't take long for him to wake up, though. The door to the elevator hissed open to reveal Bright, Mirai, and Sayla had returned to the bridge… with strange company. He stared at the four… things… for a moment, utterly silent.

With an awkward look, the small blue one uncomfortably smiled and curled up its fingers. "Haha… Mmreow?"

Reed fell out of the chair screaming like a little girl in a tank full of frogs. "BRIGHT, WHAT IN THE GREEN HELL ARE THOSE THINGS!?"

"We're not entirely sure, Lieutenant," he said. "They're the ones who fired off that flare. They call themselves 'Mobians'."

He didn't know what to say. The only way something like that could have happened, he thought, is if Zeon had somehow created human-animal hybrids, but for what purpose? He remembered a story about the medieval tyrant Joseph Stalin having once tried to crossbreed humans and apes; did the Zabis succeed where he'd failed?

"Uh, Bright," the blue one said, glancing at the acting captain, "who's Mr. Sunshine over there?"

"He's First Lieutenant Sean William Reed," Bright explained. "He was supposed to direct us during re-entry this morning, the Zeons threw a big wrench in that plan."

"I can tell they like to do that," the creature remarked, as they all entered the bridge. "Listen, I'm gonna get to the bottom line. We just need two things: answers and a way home."

"Answers?" Sayla asked.

"Like, what even IS Zeon?" he asked. "When we left New Mobotropolis, we didn't even know about it until we got this place called El Paso and found it crawling with soldiers."

"It's a country we're at war with," Mirai explained. "It's on the other side of the moon."

"You've been through El Paso?" asked Bright.

"It was a brief stop on our way to find Bunnie, here," said the one with red hair. "There were also remains of a battle just outside the city. A vehicle labelled EFGF was among the wreckage. I think it may have belonged to you, in hindsight."

"Yes, the Ground Forces," said Bright. "Several months ago, Zeon took over more than half of the Earth's surface. Most of this continent is under their thumb."

"I knew that these fellas were tough," the yellow rabbit-like one remarked. "But I didn't reckon on them being so big on the Robotnik Scale."

"You still haven't told us where you… all came from," said Reed. He wasn't exactly in on what the four were supposed to be, "all" was as much as he could do.

A bit of silence overtook the bridge before the redheaded rodent finally broke it. "Would you believe us if we said we're from this planet 12,000 years in the future?"

Given the oddity of the situation, none of the humans were prepared to dismiss the claim.

"Tell us," she continued. "In the past few days, was there ever a bright flash of light that swept over everything recently?"

"As a matter of fact," said Bright, "something like that happened on Tuesday as the ship was on its way to Side 7? I assume you may know about it?"

"Remember a moment ago what I said about Dr. Eggman?" said Sonic, the name the blue creature had been introduced with. "I mean, before that Kai dude started acting like an ass. He caused it. He'd captured Sally and turned her into a robot—and that's a story in itself—and when we were getting close to saving her, he… tried to rewrite reality as he saw fit with the use of seven powerful stones called Chaos Emeralds. I tried to fix the mess he made, but he screwed everything up. It was only later that we found out that Earth in our time, Mobius, had merged with itself in the ancient past, eons before the advent of the Mobian race."

"Only 12,000?" Bright asked. "Humans have only existed for 1,500,000 years, yet things like Hedgehogs and Rabbits were able to gain sentience and speech in a vastly shorter expanse of time? How is that possible?"

"This whole thing's too big to digest in one sitting," said the Hedgehog. "All you need to know at this time is that between now and then, powerful stuff and bad hombres come to Mob—er, Earth. The people back home have no idea what's happened and Eggman's disappeared."

"But that place, Goldwater Valley, what were its coordinates again, Sally?" Mirai asked. "We'll find it."

Sally repeated it. "38.5, -78.5."

Up on his end of the platform, Marker fed the information into his computer. "Confirmed," he announced. "Shenandoah Valley, eighteen klicks south-southwest of Luray, Virginia."

"VIRGINIA!?" Reed shrieked. "That's suicide!"

"Well, if you don't wanna take us," said Sonic, annoyed, "you got an alternative? Maybe something to fight those Zakus of yours?"

"Forget about it!" the lieutenant shouted. "This ship is not going an inch deeper into a Zeon zone and we're not giving up anything." He groaned. After all of today's excitement, the ulcers had come back.

"I don't like agreeing with Lieutenant Reed after all that happened this afternoon," Bright said, vastly calmer than his superior, "but going halfway across the continent in our condition is too risky."

"I understand," said the Hedgehog. "We saw your battle in the Canyon today. That white thing that splashed all those planes was incredible. We don't have anything like it in Acorn. This ship alone would have a much easier time fighting Zeon than we would. But at the same time…" he let out a pained sigh, as if something were pulling on him. He was able to keep on with his explanation, though, "After we left New Mobotropolis to find Bunnie, we hadn't heard a peep out of Eggman. Zeon bombed one of his Dark Egg Legion chapters yesterday along with a Mobian city. This little girl with us is the only survivor of those attacks and we need to get her to safety as well. Despite them attacking one of Eggman's divisions, I keep thinking about a worst-case-scenario. He might try to reach an agreement with them and join forces. It's not enough that Eggman's smart, he's crafty too. If the DEL and Zeon forge an alliance, things are going to be twice as bad for you."

"I… was part of the Desert Chapter," the green Armadillo chimed in. "Our ranks are given robotic implants when we join. That means built-in weapons, enhanced strength, or improved senses. Most of us only joined because we had nowhere left to go."

Bright's brow furrowed. It didn't take a genius to see how something like that would benefit the Zeon war effort.

"Listen to me, Mr. Bright," said Sally. "New Mobotropolis has a force field over it. If you can get there, NICOLE can expand the dome and you can do whatever repairs you need without damage from bombardment."

"But this city of yours isn't aligned with the Federation," he noted.

"We're not with Zeon, either," she pointed out. "You can have repair work done without any legal trouble. I'll see to it."

Bright turned and faced the bow, still in deep thought. Animal people, cybernetics, high-energy gems, time-travel—it would sound like a fever dream, but here they were, wide awake. Now there was the revelation of a new city near the Virginia-West Virginia line full of these "Mobians". They shared a common enemy and brought up a potential threat, if they were to be believed. "How do I know this isn't a trick?" he asked, skeptically.

"I dunno, Bright," said Sonic. "How many Mobians have you run into before today?"

This was a hard bullet to bite, but it was finally severed in twain. "We'll go east."

"Are you out of your fucking mind, Bright!?" said Reed. "There could be another Zeek ambush just waiting for us out there!"

"Lieutenant," Bright said flatly, "Garma Zabi is the leader of the enemy occupying this region. You can bet it all that he's not going to waste time regrouping. It doesn't matter if we go north, south, east, or west, he's still going to try to hit us. I don't completely believe our little guests here, but they seem to know what they're talking about." _It was a big gamble bringing Amuro aboard,_ he thought, _when push comes to shove, he saves our skin. This isn't that different._

"You're gonna get a goddam court—GUHH!" The ulcers cut Reed short of "martial". The pain had gotten more severe.

"Sayla, could you take Lieutenant Reed down to sick bay?" Bright asked.

Much like Fraw Bow several hours ago, Sayla was doing the honors this time. It still didn't stop Reed from his complaining. "If they sink this ship and capture the Gundam, you are gonna go down in history as the man who singlehandedly kicked the door open for the Zeeks! GAH!"

The elevator shut.

The Rabbit among them shook her head. "There goes one charming fella."

* * *

Not a single patron was left in the diner, and all staffers had finished their cleaning duties and went home. All but Chloe, who had already finished wiping the tables and counter. She sat alone in a booth, only accompanied by her thoughts.

"Chloe? What are you still doing here?" Chuck was there.

She was a little startled when she heard her boss. "Mr. Chuck? W-What time is it?"

"It's almost 11:00. Everyone's gone home but you."

"Forgive me," she said. "I've just had a lot on my mind."

"Something seems to be bothering you," he said. "Is it okay to talk about it?"

She blushed. _Do I really need to do this? After all you've done for me? _"I've got a bit of a problem. Well, a big one actually. Remember when Mina and Ash came by and I froze when I found out who they were?"

Chuck nodded.

"I was still nervous when I finally spoke to them," she said, "and I blurted out that I'd like to play music with her. They invited me over to their trailer today to play my keyboard for them and they want me join their band."

"I see. So what's wrong?"

"I don't want to leave the diner," Chloe told him. "Yeah, I love Mina's music and all, but you've done so much for me, Mr. Chuck—this job and all. Ever since I came over from Furville, you've been like a father to me. I don't want to abandon you or hurt your feelings or anything like that." That was it. Several hours of keeping it corked up inside her and it all came out through the Mouse's tear ducts.

"Chloe, it's alright," he said.

"But Mr. Chuck, playing the keyboard was only a hobby. It's not—!"

"Not a real job?" he finished. "It can be now. Life's funny like that."

"But Mr. Chuck—!"

"Chloe, you've done a great job for me during your time working here," he said. "Now, I think it's time for you to move on to something bigger."

"You're okay with this?"

"Waiting tables isn't something most people strive for," he told her. "Life's given you a golden opportunity to move up in the world."

"But I'm just a regular girl," the Mouse objected. "I'm not super star material, isn't this kind of work more suited for me?"

Chuck laughed. "Egotism was always a non-entity with you, Chloe. The truth is that nobody was ever born famous. Sonic wasn't always the big hero he is today and to be perfectly honest, it was an idea between me and Ash," Chuck admitted.

"Y-You knew?"

"You could really carry a note, you know," he said, "and the crew always said you liked writing songs during your breaks. Though I never pegged you as someone who could play an instrument." He put his palm on her shoulder. She was very rattled after all this. "Listen, I know you feel like this is something that's going to crush you and that you feel safer in this diner. Ash and Mina see your potential, too. The only way you can possibly hurt my feelings is to keep working here."

Chuck had every ace in the deck. Ash, Mina, the band, and now him. What other choice did she have? "I'll do it."

"Attagirl."

She broke down again. She was happy, but the feeling was still very painful and bittersweet.

Her now-ex-boss was there to comfort her.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

This is the moment you've probably been waiting to happen for over twenty chapters. It wouldn't have made any sense for the Freedom Fighters to show up on Side 7, the logical move was to have them meet the _White Base _when she got to Earth. I was worried about all the talking between the Mobians and the crew, but HyperionGM believed it worked. The bit with Sapper and Nack was a tougher one, too. I'd decided early on that Orbot and Cubot wouldn't be captured by Garma like their creator had. Where would they go? To Mogul. Big thanks to SonicEvan for input with that and the end of Chloe's job as a waitress, the latter of which GM had a hand in as well.

Also, Sonic versus Kai and an homage to the trailer for the disaster of a _Sonic _movie!


	24. Battle of Shenandoah I

**Jefferson Parish, Louisiana**

**September 24, 0079**

**0548 Hours, PST  
**

* * *

Berkeley Plantation: a Greek revival mansion on the northern shore of Lake Pontchartrain, its façade like an old temple supported by Ionic columns. Construction on the building had begun shortly after the end of the War of 1812. Thanks to the Union securing the area early in the American Civil War, it was spared from the battlefield. Today, a conflict the scope of which the 1860's could never have fathomed was being fought.

Garma thought it was a very nice place, despite him not being there often enough to enjoy it, duty and all. The young commissar was awake at this time, groomed and in uniform. The faint hiss of a shower could be heard. He had in his hand a shiny, black tablet—like an old iPad, but only rigged to function on the current premises. With the press of a button on the touchscreen, a line was made, audio-only. The sound of the water now sounded much closer. "Good morning, Char."

Despite the running shower, he understood his friend clearly. _"You're up awfully early, Garma."_

"I really couldn't sleep," he admitted. "It's that 'Trojan Horse'. I keep thinking about that battle yesterday." He turned to the window, still very dark outside; but there was an orange cloud over the horizon. New Orleans was over there, giving off its many lights. "So, the mansion. Like it?"

_"It's a nice little place you've requisitioned."_

"North America's a gold mine of late-medieval history," he said, "it's really worth a visit. We have no real use for New Orleans, but it's a really nice city and I'm thankful we left it intact. We took care not to bomb the swamps and bayous, too. You can't recreate any of those on a colony."

_"A wise choice."_

"Eschonbach isn't happy, though," said Garma. "He nabs every chance to lob a complaint about me whenever I try to rebuild."

_"Eschonbach? Joseph Eschonbach, the mayor of LA? Better keep an eye on him."_

"How would you know?"

_"Common sense," _said Char, now having turned the water off. _"Our intel says Eschonbach runs the guerillas. How long do you plan to toy with him, Garma?"_

"Toy with him?" He laughed lightly. "You can think that if you want. Eschonbach's guerillas are no real threat." He moved to a chair nearby, a black leather armchair, and took a seat. "Thanks for your help yesterday. I know I can get carried away on the front lines."

_"Any soldier would help his commander out of danger."_

"No, you do more than that," said Garma. "You also consider my place in the Zabi family."

_"You mean Rear Admiral Kycilia again?"_

The commissar took a deep breath. "Dozle adores me," he said, "but Kycilia… it feels like she's testing me."

_"Don't worry, Garma."_

"I guess I shouldn't. I never knew my mother, so perhaps my sister intimidates me. Who knows? If sinking the 'Trojan Horse' won't secure any prestige, the discovery of the aliens might."

_"Aliens?"_

"It happened while you were in space," said Garma. "I can fill you in later."

* * *

One hour ahead of the Comet and the commissar, a line had formed at Naked Creek Overlook, near the north end of Skyline Drive, watching over Shenandoah Valley. Where it was oil-black at Lake Pontchartrain, one could see everything fairly well, though it was all blanketed in mountain mist.

Two pairs of Typhoon and Twister self-propelled multi-rocket launchers, two Scorpion missile buggies captured from the Federation, five Kalinka howitzers, and three trucks mounted with high-explosive missiles faced into the valley. To the naked eye, it was just a black void right now. But it was there, as well as the Shenandoah Anomaly.

Lieutenant Konrad Ulmer had his right leg propped up on the overlook's guardrail, leaning toward the valley, binoculars up. The structure was still out there, in the same spot, unmoved like the surrounding mountains. The woods originally around it had vanished, leaving about a clearing with a radius of about 1,000 feet. It was as if nothing had grown there in ages.

He looked at his watch: 06:58. It was almost time. "Lieutenant Ricci," he said into his walkie-talkie, "when they open our present, give them yours."

_"Yes, sir."_

06:59. Everything seemed to go quiet and every second felt like a minute as crew and engineers stared out into the foggy distance. Captain Schultz finally gave them clearance to make a move after so long monitoring the Anomaly. After that team from Christiansburg vanished in its vicinity, they had taken increased interest in the odd structure.

07:00. Hisses and whistles erupted over the valley, rockets of varying size and type soared like meteors and came down hard on the distant Anomally, providing discordant ambiance. Like clockwork, when the flames rose, the distant thunder of howitzers pealed. Battery B, run by Ricci at Hazeltop Ridge, had opened fire on cue.

A few seconds passed and Ulmer donned his binoculars again. The Anomally was still standing, not a scratch.

Another surprise came with it. Some kind of structure rose from the ground before the stone ring. No hatches were opened, nor was the ground broken. In the manner of a 3D-printout, it rose up, taking the shape of an old battleship turret with three barrels. It swiveled so its guns were pointed toward Hazeltop; they rose one by one in speedy succession.

"Ricci, return fire! Quickly!" he yelled, frantically over the line.

KRA-GOOOM! The turret replied to Ricci's bombardment about a second before more fire rained down on the spot.

Another unwelcome sight followed the exchange: a second turret, identical to the first, materialized in the same fashion. This one was all Ulmer's.

"Don't stand around like a bunch of fucking rocks!" he yelled. "Open fire!"

A huge geyser of flames erupted before the battery as soon as the command was issued. Fortunately for Ulmer, the Anomaly's volley came down just a little short.

Once they were able to rebound from the shock, they were all in awe of a second sight. Some odd shape faded in above the dome, as big as a monster from an old Japanese_ kaiju _movie. At first, it looked humanoid in shape, but became more and more catlike as the shape cleared. The image spoke, its voice not needing to be amplified: "I am NICOLE, steward and administrator of New Mobotropolis. You are trespassing on the territory of the Republic of Acorn. You are to depart this vicinity immediately."

Ulmer scowled. Whatever trick these aliens had, it wasn't going to work. Schultz had given them their orders, after all. No retreat. "Hit 'em again!"

* * *

"Ow!" Amuro had slept so hard, the only thing that could wake him was falling out of bed. Dizzy and groggy, he rubbed the sore spot on the back of his head as he rose to his feet. The clock on the wall shone in green digital numbers: 06:01.

He noticed he was still in his normal suit from yesterday. He never changed out. Tugging his collar open, he sniffed. _I need to hit the shower before Bright starts calling me._

The boy wasn't completely rested, but he was feeling a lot better than he was the previous evening; at least he was aware enough to bring a clean uniform with him. The walk to the shower didn't feel like it took an eternity this time. Today, though, his stomach was troubling him. He didn't need to use the bathroom or anything, it was just that he wasn't completely used to having to wake up that early, so he felt queasy.

Stepping into the locker room, he was greeted by the sound of a nearby shower in use. He unzipped his normal suit and placed it in the dirty clothes bin in the corner. After that, to number 67, his locker, where swapped his clean uniform for a small bottle of shampoo, and a thin bar of soap, still wrapped.

He looked at the bench on the hallway end on the other side of the aisle: a small pair of gloves sat on a bench and a pair of tiny red and white buckle shoes were beneath it. No other clothes.

The water stopped running and was replaced by a rejuvenated voice. "Geez, it feels like it's been years since I last took a shower. Good thing we bumped into these guys." It belonged to… something. Something small, hairy, and blue. It was only about as big as a child, but was clearly not human. It left the bathroom drying itself off with a white towel. Amuro looked at it as if were a clown riding an ostrich with a fake rainbow mohawk on the bird's head.

The creature noticed the boy sitting on the bench, wearing only a pair of boxers.

Silence saturated the locker room.

"What's wrong, kid?" said the little animal-like thing. "Never seen such fine cut of Hedgehog before?"

"Hedgehog?"_ Am I still asleep_, Amuro thought, _or has all this fighting finally made me snap?_

"Long story," it continued, "but here's the short version: My name is Sonic, I'm from the future, our time's merged with yours, and we're trying to get home without a bunch of those Zaku things killing us. Good thing you ancients had a sense of cleanliness!"

"But hedgehogs aren't blue… and they don't talk…"

"Again, long story." He slipped on the small gloves and shoes. Those aside, the "Hedgehog" was completely naked.

"How—How do you know about the Zakus?" he asked.

"Had a few run-ins with Zeon the past couple of days," Sonic explained. "Had no clue about how to deal with them until I saw you guys and that white thing yesterday in the Great Canyon."

"_Grand_ Canyon," he corrected.

"Same place, different era," Sonic remarked. He smirked, saying "Y'know, you look like you could use a shower yourself. I don't wanna hear that Kai dork make fun of you having BO."

Amuro stared as the little guy stepped into the corridor. "Just a shower and breakfast and maybe it'll all pass over," he whispered, still thinking he wasn't totally awake yet.

* * *

Dawn had yet to break, but the _White Base _was already on the move. It wasn't too difficult for Sally to piece together as to why. Reed had made it clear the night before.

Every eye of the human refugees was fixed on her. Obviously seeing a sample of what would become the predominant race on the planet in several thousand years without knowing what exactly it was going to attract stares.

Convincing Bright to head for Acorn was a small victory for her little coterie, but trying to build a bridge between these ancient humans and the Mobians only yielded a single brick thus far.

"Morning Sal!" Sonic came walking up to the princess from behind, drawing some of the rubberneckers' attention toward him. "Seems you've won a bunch fans."

"Sonic, Mobians don't exist in this period," she told him. "They don't even know what we are."

"I'm aware of that," he said. "Bumped into some kid on my way out of the shower. He didn't believe I was a Hedgehog!" He laughed a little, before changing the subject. "Got a status report on the road home?"

"Bright said we'd reach the Virginia line in a little under three hours as the Luggun flies," she said.

"Sal, lagoons are made of water," he said. "They don't fly."

"No, L-U-G-G-U-N," she corrected him. "You know those Zeon planes with the stalks on the wings? That's what they're called. I'm told one's behind the ship right now, tracking us."

Sonic didn't look bothered. "Well after all the fireworks in the Canyon yesterday, those Zeons aren't gonna be that big of a nightmare. We've got shitload of firepower on our side."

"For the moment," she reminded him. "Bright said they're only going to go to New Mobotropolis so we can go home and they can make quick repairs. After that, we're parting ways with them."

"The sooner we're home, the better," said Sonic. "I'm sick of that desert."

* * *

Sayla only got about two hours of sleep in before getting called down to sick bay. Losses were minimal yesterday, but there were quite a number of wounded. Refugees of varying ages and backgrounds had gotten banged up the day before, more so than the crew. For the better part of her shift, it was groans, wailing, and a stated concern about the possibility of running out of anesthesia.

Amid the people she and ship's surgeon Son Malo were treating, was a man called Martin Goro. He was quite alright for a man in his early seventies, apparently coming to sick bay to see a friend who had gotten wounded. His silent watch over the early morning landscape ended with him voicing his feelings. He laid his eyes on Sayla, who was currently tucking another old man who was worse off than him into one of the infirmary's beds. "I have a question. How far are you planning to drag us?"

"Drag you?" Sayla asked. The man's voice was sour.

"We're sick and tired of all the fighting," he elaborated.

Another elderly visitor, a woman this time, agreed. "Ever since we left Side 7, with all the battles, I haven't slept a wink."

"Just how long are you planning to keep this up?" another old man asked, this one bald with glasses.

"We're trying to land someplace safe," Sayla explained. "But until then, you must be patient."

"We're just tired of all this," another man replied. "We don't care where it is, just let us off."

The old lady squeezed her hands together. "The Zeons only want the ship, right? Give it to them and let us go free!"

"What the hell is this!?" Another voice chimed in. It didn't belong to any of the old people, but to that Bunnie girl they'd picked up last night. It seemed as though she had stumbled upon the refugees' complaints, and she didn't look happy about their position. "I can't believe what y'all are bitching about! We're in the middle of nowhere right now and the sun hasn't even come up yet! Y'all really wanna leave now of all times? As long as y'all are safe in the short term, y'all're willing to give up everything!?"

The complaining stopped for the time being, but the oldsters didn't seem to have recanted their stances; a few of them looked shocked at the sight of the Rabbit and the fact that she could speak. But all-in-all, their collective demeanor gave off the look of little kids who were scolded, but weren't a bit sorry.

* * *

The reverberation of blasts could be heard throughout Luray. One restaurant, the Mountaintop Kitchen, was closed off to the public today. It had been requisitioned as a makeshift command center for the Shenandoah investigation by Captain Gleb Schultz.

Despite the view of the steamy mountains to the west, Schultz couldn't enjoy the scenery. In fact, he could barely touch his pancakes as his ears were fixed to a lasercomm whose line went straight to the battery at Naked Creek. So far, hardware at said overlook, and Hazeltop further away, had been pummeled by the alien colony in the valley. Several fatalities had already occurred, most from indirect fire, and the wounded were piling up. Despite their efforts, not so much as a dent had been made in the Anomaly.

_That thing isn't that small, _Schultz thought, _how are our guns not doing anything? I know I wanted some action in this backwater zone, but I wanted to fight Feddies, not aliens. _He stood up and called out to the booth in the southwestern corner of the restaurant. "Private, has Rappahannock responded?"

A pair of computers had been set up there and one grunt was trying to babysit them both. "No reply yet Cap—!" He was interrupted by a ping. "No, wait, they just sent it. 'The 55th and 77th Dopp Squadrons and 20th Medical Ops Squadron inbound for Shenandoah. Estimated arrival: forty minutes.' Also, Winston-Salem is sending armor via Gaws to attack the Anomaly from the south."

"And anything from Fort Pickett?"

"I've sent your request for gunships a few minutes ago. No response yet, but it went through—C-Captain, another message! Commissar Garma is inbound for Norfolk. He requests a report on the Anomally."

A moment of silence and a mental remark from Schultz: _Definitely shaping up to be a big stink.  
_

* * *

_Pathetic. _The castle rocked again. From within the body of Geoffrey St. John, Ixis Naugus watched as the guns outside the city and the ones on the sides of the mountains to the east exchanged fire. No matter what the AI did, it seemed as if she were trying to frighten the attackers away instead of actually fighting.

The emergence of Agunus' bellicose tone stilled the sounds of artillery in the wizard's mind. _"Bravo,"_ he said. _"You have an opportunity to save your office now."_

_ "Indeed,"_ Nusgau concurred. _"The AI appears to be… hesitant about directly engaging our assailants."_

_ "A capital time to prove that you're not a king who will hide from the world when your land is threatened,"_ Suguna added. _"That you're not afraid to get your hands dirty."_

"I know what you're planning," said Naugus, as a crimson cloud bloomed against the shield surrounding the city. "I'm not so foolish as to try that."

_"Do you plan to fight them in your student's body?"_ Agunus asked. _"Or have you elected to stay bottled up in your little bubble?"_

"You want me to leave this body so you can run amok," said Naugus. "The work on the remedy is still incomplete and you know it."

_"Likewise, you have lost your favor,"_ Suguna noted. _"We were with you during the meetings, you know."_

_"The people are beginning to wish for Maximillian's son to return,"_ Nusgau responded.

_"And with your retreat from the public eye, the Council could very well consider it," _Agunus added.

"Leave me be, you foul fiends!"

Nusgau cackled. _"If only it were that simple."_

_ "What will it be, O king?"_ asked Suguna. _"To hide or to act?"  
_

* * *

A female private was dragged away from the ridge, her stomach and legs all sliced up by shrapnel. She'd gotten off lucky, she would live. Most of those who had fallen at Naked Creek and Hazeltop that morning would find places in a MASH; at least ten wouldn't be so lucky.

Ulmer watched as the pained grunt was escorted to the ambulance on the side of the parkway, where at least a dozen others were stuffed inside. Then he turned to face the Anomaly. It had been an hour and, despite throwing everything they had at it, didn't leave a scratch. Smoke billowed along the slopes and woods below, the alien colony standing firm._ It's as if they're avoiding trying to hit us, _Ulmer thought, _but we're the only ones taking losses. What are we up against?_

The large hologram of that catlike creature appeared again. "I am NICOLE, steward and administrator of New Mobotroplis. I do not wish to fight you. Furthermore, your weapons have proven useless in penetrating the defensive shield surrounding the city. To cease further damages and prevent unnecessary losses, a ceasefire is requested."

A ceasefire? Were they serious? Was it out of fear? More like bravado. Luray would need to be radioed ASAP.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

There you have it! Amuro Ray has finally laid eyes on Sonic the Hedgehog and the _White Base _is bound for New Mobe!

Thanks to HyperionGM for the assist on the new Gundam bits and SonicEvan for the Sonic stuff.

\+ In _Origin_, the scene between Garma and Char when the latter was showering occurred at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Hollywood, while the Movie I sequence occurred somewhere in the Deep South (most likely the Mississippi/Louisiana area, based on the establishing pan). The scene was moved to a locale more fitting of the movie trilogy sequence of events, since the _White Base _is going eastward for a little bit.

\+ The scene with Bunnie, Sayla, and the old people was derived from a similar scene in Kondo's _Gundam 0079 _manga. The difference being that Ryu was the one telling the oldsters off.

(Things are about to get _pretty _interesting with Naugus, given his current position.)


	25. Battle of Shenandoah II

**Williamsburg, Virginia  
September 24, UC 0079  
0852 Hours, EST  
**

* * *

"You've got quite the affinity for medieval America."

Garma wasn't going to doubt his Char's comment, he just smiled. "After father granted me the position of regional commissar," he said, "I quickly grew to appreciate the sights and history of my charge. Besides, he always said he saw me as more of a teacher than a soldier." He and a small coterie of officers were in Williamsburg, just a short drive from Norfolk. Even though some morning fog lingered, the group was out and about, walking down Duke of Gloucester Street.

"Well, if they can replicate the Old West on a colony," said Char, looking at the walled Magazine on his right, "I don't see how they can't restore one town to the way it looked during the American Revolution."

"The thirteen colonies weren't too different from us," said Garma. "I only hope we're as successful against the Feddies as they were against Imperial Britain."

Char frowned. _Seems somebody puts stock in Marshal Gihren's rhetoric. Not totally surprised._

A chirpy ring sounded from Garma's pocket. His compact smartphone had gone off: he'd received a video message. "Schultz," he remarked. "Probably that update I'd requested earlier."

With one press of a button, the clip played: _"Captain Gleb Schultz, Shenandoah Investigation, reporting from Luray. Artillery bombardment of the Anomaly began at 0700 Eastern. It is currently 0850. The aliens have replied with lethal force, but do not seem to be aiming directly for the batteries. Twenty-nine friendlies have been wounded in the exchanges, with ten KIA. Ulmer reports that some sort of barrier is shielding to alien structure, no damage has been inflicted. Approximately ten minutes ago, the aliens sent a request for a ceasefire. As we speak aerial reinforcements are inbound for our location. We await further orders. Schultz out!"_

"Are they serious?" Garma said, indignantly. "After handling that 'Death Egg' of Eggman's and crushing two alien colonies out West, the division's having problems with this one?"

"You never really told me about these aliens, Garma," said Char.

"We really don't know what they are," the commissar explained. "We call them aliens for the same purposes we christened our new pest the 'Trojan Horse'. They seem to have the traits of both humans and animals. We captured a few the other day, claiming to be part of a military organization called the Dark Egg Legion."

"Sounds like the villains of some kids' show from the early space age," Char remarked.

"We've been monitoring the Anomaly for a good week," said Garma. "A group from a nearby garrison fell afoul of the aliens. We never heard from them again."

"And I assume we're going over to Luray later today?"

"Bingo," Garma confirmed.

* * *

Fraw Bow held a zipped-up freezer bag with something pink, white, and bulky inside at a distance; a pair of wadded-up objects, tissues of some sort. At a brisk pace, she headed toward the waste chute across the hall, about ten yards away from the cabin she shared with the kids. For the most part, they tended to recycle items onboard the ship; here, though, was something that couldn't and she was ready to get rid of it.

The bag was pitched, but not quickly enough as to go unnoticed. Kai was right there, with a cocky grin on his face. "Was that a diaper?" he asked, chuckling. "You actually into that sorta thing or are those special panties for 'that time of the month'?"

She rolled her eyes. First thing in the morning and he was already in full smartmouth mode. "Kai, that was Kikka's," she said, really not wanting him to start with her, especially not so early in the day. "She… had an accident in the bed." The little girl in question tended to behave like a typical four or five-year-old, but ironically still had some lingering issues in regard to toileting. In this case, waking up to use the bathroom was a skill that was taking time to materialize.

"Ah, you got no sense of humor," Kai remarked.

"Acting like an assface from the word 'go'?"

Kai and Fraw's attention was turned to the blue Hedgehog and Chipmunk walking toward them.

"Mr. Needlemouse and Princess Furry! How're you kids doing?"

Sally heaved a sigh of annoyance. "Again, my name is Sally and his name is Sonic."

"You got nothing on the menu today and just wanna douche it up?" Sonic asked.

"I was just on my way down below," Kai said, with a smarmy tone. "I just happened to be in the neighborhood."

Sonic squinted at the violet-haired boy as he walked away, hands in his pockets.

"What's going on out—?" As Katz opened the cracked door to Fraw's cabin wider, the sight of the two hairy visitors interrupted his question. "You guys gotta see this!"

The accident was what woke the four occupants up. Katz and Letz were already dressed, but Kikka still lacked her boots and Daisy Dukes, running out to see the Mobians in her diaper. Sally was of equal height to the little human girl, but Letz was still slightly taller than Sonic. All three couldn't make heads or tails of what they were. They were in awe of the strange visitors.

"How do ya like this, Sal?" said Sonic. "Only been here a few hours and we've gotten some fans already!"

"Are you a deer or something?" asked Katz.

"Chipmunk," Sally responded.

"You look like you're from a cartoon or something," said Letz.

"Y-Yeah, we get that a lot," Sonic replied. "OW!" Kikka was pulling on one of his quills, to see if they were real. "Hands off the merchandise, kid!"

"Kikka, let go," said Fraw Bow.

"Forgive us," said Sally, "we didn't mean to cause a scene. We're trying to find a place we can eat, if you have one."

"You mean the mess?" said Fraw. "Let me get Kikka's pants on and we'll all go together… I take it you came with those other two… animal girls?"

"We're called Mobians," Sally explained, "and yes, they're with us."

The two human girls entered the cabin to finish the younger's dressing, leaving Sonic and Sally out with the two boys.

"Are you two aliens or something?" asked Katz.

"Actually, the truth is going to be more cranial that just that," Sonic replied.

* * *

Meanwhile, still trapped in his cell below New Mobotropolis, the captured Zeon private Grant hears the rumble of battle start again. _The alien fools think I'm defeated,_ he thought. _But not yet! Even in a cell, Grant can be dangerous._

One thing Who and his team had failed to find on the man was a subminiature short-wave radio set. Of comparable size and thickness to a poker chip, he had hidden it in his boot. It would be used to send a secret message directly to the base in Christiansburg.

"Christiansburg, this Grant," he said. "I'm still alive, but in enemy custody. The Anomaly is protected by a shield, resistant to heavy bombardment. A direct attack wastes—!"

"But the city is under attack!"

Grant had to hide his radio quickly. He recognized the voice of Elias, his captor, and couldn't risk getting caught with it.

"I know that," said Who. "But to send you all out to fight the enemy is suicidal."

"We've captured and rewired those (what did he call them?) Wappas," Elias argued. "We can probably strafe them!"

"Still, no," said Who, sternly. "Listen, I understand that you're concerned about your people's safety, but I don't want to compromise your push to reclaim the throne because of your impulses."

Grant raised an eyebrow. _Reclaim the throne? He's the king?_

"I just… feel so useless here," he admitted, with a painful inflection.

Who's voice became less forceful. "They have the army and Team Freedom, plus NICOLE is doing a fine job disrupting the—!" He was interrupted by a beep. "Who, here. Yes? I see."

Grant was standing right up to the bars, hoping for good news and anticipating the bad.

"That was Operative Betty," said Who. "Reports tanks approaching from the southeast."

Grant smiled. _A tank assault? The artillery can't crack this shield, but will our panzers do better?  
_

* * *

The fight at the Grand Canyon didn't put the _White Base _out of commission, but it did one of her engines. So deep in enemy territory, there was nobody to go to for replacement parts. Every screw, every nut, every bolt had to be used with tender love and care. The engine in question couldn't be salvaged the way things were now: too many busted valves. A bypass wouldn't work either.

The crack of dawn and Ryu was already on his last nerve. All the fighting had taken a toll on the weapons system on the Guntank he and Hayato were in. "A shit ton of them are busted! Where are you checking!?"

"These are all the gun parts we've got," one of the numerous grease-monkeys in the repair dock reported from the unit's left shoulder, "so please use them sparingly!"

"What's that, you asshole?! You think I'd just waste them?!"

Hayato was nearby, decked out in his normal suit, diligently doing repairs to the suit's tracks.

"Yo, Hayato! Working hard?"

Kai's voice made Hayato look up from his station. The taller boy was in uniform, hands folded behind his back, looking particularly not busy. "Are you all done, Kai?"

"All set," he told him "I barely took any damage last time. Bye!"

Wherever Kai had planned to run off to goof off at was soon a hundred miles away, figuratively as an irate voice echoed over the intercom: _"Kai! Don't loiter in there! Stand by at your battle station!"  
_

* * *

"Tilly, y'all okay?"

The little Mercian Armadillo was watching the landscape below go by when Bunnie grabbed her attention. The girls joined one another at the viewport and looked out into the morning. "I'm just… thinking about Acorn," the former Legionnaire told her. "I don't think my brother's going to be there, or his friends, the Chaotix."

"Whatcha mean?" she asked, all ears.

"You all were fighting the Eggman Empire," she told her, "and I was part of it." She indicated the insignia on her cybernetics. "They don't want me."

"Tilly," Bunnie assured her, "y'ain't gonna get kicked out on yer behind like Jack Rabbit did ya."

"I just wish… that the Baron were here."

"Morning, girls!" Sonic and Sally were approaching them from the right. Three children and an older girl were with them. "Fraw Bow, kids, this is Matilda the Armadillo and our old friend Bunnie D'Coolette."

"Um, howdy!"

Tilly nodded.

"Fraw Bow here was just showing us to the galley," Sally explained. "We wanted to grab some breakfast. You want to come?"

Six became eight as they all headed to the mess. Humans everywhere, uniformed and no. One, however, stuck out.

"Hey, it's old sleepy head!" said Sonic.

Fraw noticed. "Y-You mean Amuro?"

"Bumped into him on my way out of the shower," he told them. "You all go ahead and get what you want, I'll save you a spot." Sonic zipped over to the boy.

* * *

"How's it hangin', Amuro?"

Shocked, Amuro coughed up a little bit of orange juice. Some went into his nostrils, making them sting a bit. "It's… you! You're real!?"

"Flesh and bone," the Hedgehog responded. "Came this way to get a bite to eat. The girl over there with those kids showed us where to go." He indicated to the breakfast line, where Fraw Bow, the kids, and three more of those animal things were.

"There's more of you!?" Poor Amuro. He was only halfway-prepared to fly the Gundam, but never expected to lay eyes on these creatures allegedly from the future.

"If you think we're a lot," said Sonic, "wait till we get to New Mobe."

"New Mobe?"

"It's my hometown," said Sonic. "We'll be there in a little while. Since you've woken up a bit, I can give you more detail on where we come from."

Fraw Bow, the kids, and the other Mobians gathered at the table. Sally told him about the Great War and the old Kingdom of Acorn, how it was overthrown by Julian Kintobor, the late infamous Dr. Robotnik. She went on about the ex-Warlord's abuse of roboticization and the ten-year-guerilla war to restore the old order, resulting in his death. Attempts to revive the Kingdom were hampered by an extra-dimensional version of Robotnik called Eggman, who brought another war. She brought up the destruction of Knothole Village, the evolution from Absolutism to Republican government, and the short-lived victory that culminated into another war.

"And I thought we had it bad," said Amuro.

"Oh, it gets better," Sonic remarked. "After Elias resigned, Eggman tried to kill him and Antoine almost died trying to save him. Bunnie ran off to get robot limbs from her uncle out in the desert because she blamed herself for the incident. We eventually caught up with Sally, to deroboticize her, but Eggman, the sore loser that he is, used a Genesis Wave in an attempt to overwrite everything. It merged our time with yours."

The voice of Marker blared over the PA system: _"Would Princess Sally please report to the bridge? You are needed immediately."_

"Sounds like we're as good as home, Sal," said Sonic. "Want me to come with, or—?"

"I can go from here," Sally assured him. Down to seven now.

"Anyway," Sonic continued, "after we got Sally back, we had to find Bunnie…"

* * *

The elevator doors whooshed open and Sally took a few steps into the bridge. The point of interest seemed to be out in the mountains ahead. Distant, intense flashes of light. Bright and Mirai were present, but Reed was too. "Are we at New Mobotropolis, Lieutenant Bright?" she asked.

"Your position is dead ahead," he told her. He turned to the two operators above them. "Give us a report."

"Yes, sir," said Oscar. "Object detected at twelve o'clock. Circular, with a radius of one kilometer."

"It's the city!" said Sally.

"There's more," said the operator. "There's a concentration of vehicles on the parkway, to the south and east of the position. Another swarm of bogies are advancing toward it from the southwest. They appear to be tanks. I count a dozen… and there's a small swarm coming from the southeast, they're gunships!"

"Another cloud of blips, this one coming from the east," said Marker.

"More aircraft?" asked Bright.

"Affirmative," he said, "they seem to be Dopps and at least one Gaw."

"Everything but the kitchen sink," Mirai commented, eyeing the distant flashes.

"I knew it," said Reed, in a tone of grim vindication, "these animals did lead us this way to kill us!"

"Lieutenant Reed, I will not tolerate your complaining another day," said Bright.

"Do you want a tribunal, Bright?" Reed snarled.

"Lieutenant Reed, just listen to me," said Sally, already feeling Bright's annoyance. "The city is administered by NICOLE, our AI. She can manipulate the nanites that make the city for its defense."

"Nanites?" asked Bright.

"The city was originally created by one of Eggman's creations, ADAM," she explained. "After he was destroyed, NICOLE took command of the city. We know Zeon means business, but the city is shielded. No bombs can break through it and we have friends who can hold their own." She faced Reed, with a cold squint. "So, no. We didn't 'lead you this way to kill you'!"

Reed shut up right there.

_"O brave new world with such people in it!" _ran through Bright's mind. What Sally was saying sounded like something out of a medieval pulp science-fiction anthology book, but he was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. She was, after all, an animal person from 12,000 years after his time. He gave the order: "All hands! We are approaching the Shenandoah area. The enemy has concentrated in the area. Man your battle stations!"

* * *

**Thanks to SonicEvan and HyperionGM for support!**


	26. Battle of Shenandoah III

**SHENANDOAH VALLEY  
****September 24, UC 0079  
0929 Hours**

* * *

To the south of Luray, nestled in the mountains, were small villages. With the mass-emigration to space of the past several decades, these tiny hamlets had become ghost towns, and inconsequential to the advancing Magella Eins and Type-61s.

Little did any of their crews anticipate the coming of a small, silver weight-like robot weaving between the columns. It easily ripped the hatch of an unlucky Eins open and dropped a little black present inside. It was destroyed in one blast a moment later, with a small, spherical robot scurrying away from the wreckage to reunite with its chunkier partner.

The two robots may not have been able to halt the procession, but they were able to weaken it.

* * *

Bombs whistled outside the Gaw as its hangar hatch opened, revealing the morning sky.

_"Master Sergeant," _a corporal radioed to his superior's cockpit, _"do you think we're gonna fare better than the artillery?"_

"Not gonna know till we try," team leader Natasha Killgallen replied. "The Anomaly's surrounded by a stone wall. I don't think that can handle a bazooka. Don't you two forget: we're on Earth. Use oxygen bursts to slow descent."

Three Zakus plummeted from the Gaw. Down below, the aircraft's futile handiwork, it had as much effect on the shield that the artillery had. They came down on the west side of the Anomaly, away from the weakened artillery batteries. The twin three-barrel turrets that had pummeled the parkway were just a short walk away in those mobile suits.

"Webb," Killgallen ordered, "acquaint the two guns with your hawk."

_"Yes, ma'am."_

"Kassab, you come with me. I've got my hawk and I want you to let 'em have a blast."

Killgallen's Zaku leapt like a basketball player making a slam dunk, its heat hawk ready to hack. Down it came, simultaneously with Corporal Kassab's bazooka shot, creating a shower of sparks on impact. She hacked again and again, not making a dent in the shield. "This shield's a nut that won't crack!" she called out. "Focus on the wall!"

"_Master Sergeant, this is Webb! The-The turrets are repairing themselves!"_

"_The wall's fixing itself, too!" _Kassab reported, shocked.

Sure enough, she turned to give a good look at the turrets Webb should have had not trouble with, only to see severed barrels dematerialize and rapidly reform where they had cut off, as if nothing had happened. She switched over to the Gaw "Q-15! The alien defenses—!"

Panic on the other end, nobody could hear her._"Mayday! Mayday! Port engine's history! Enemy ship on our ten, losing altit—KZZZT!"_

Radio static and warning lights filled the cockpit. The Zaku's right arm was getting more and more difficult to move. Killgallen could see why, but she was just as much at a loss to explain why her mobile suit's hull was becoming more and more encased in this crystalline material that seemed to form from out of nothing. The arm became too heavy and broke off.

Outside, the same ice-like substance rapidly encrusted the suit's legs.

Only one question was going through the Master Sergeant's head after this rapid change: _What are we up against? _As even her camera failed, she couldn't help but notice somebody with a stick on a rope bridge behind the shield.

* * *

King Ixis Naugus, free of his pupil's body, aimed his scepter, powered by the violet Chao Emerald, at the green goliath that had attempted to break the shield with some sort of ax. An eerie glow emanated from the rod and the limbs of the cyclops outside became coated with crystal, becoming heavier and heavier, until finally bringing it down. It lost an arm and then its legs. It went down and moved no more.

One could barely describe how the current king looked in this real form. A lobster-like claw, the eyes and ears of a bat, teeth like a bear trap, a single long horn rising from his head, and a thick white beard. In truth, this enitity was a chimera created by the fusion of three separate wizards: Agunus, Suguna, and Nusgau—all of whom continue to contend for control of the rapidly-decaying wizard-king.

Only a handful of horrified Mobians were around to see the faltering monarch's feat.

He was successful, but was out of breath. He lowered the staff, falling to his knees. He tried to support his weight with his arms, but he had used all his strength bringing down the giant. He coughed and wheezed before being floor completely, a shivering shamble of a once-triumphant ruler.

His status was nothing short of pleasing for the three warlocks. _"Bravo,"_ said Suguna. _"Now you've shown the people you aren't a coward."_

"Shut up… shut up… shut up…!"

_"Come now,"_ said Nusgau, _"we gave you the idea to save your crown."_

"If I die, you die," said Naugus, weakly.

_"If that's our fate, so be it,"_ said Agunus. _"Our last hours will be merry ones."_

Defiant, he battled his body in an effort to stand, using his scepter as a crutch. It would prove to be a short-lived fight. He had become so weak; he'd lost his grip on the rod and it passed into that of gravity's. It went straight to the ground.

He was cheek-down on the bridge again, totally immobile. _No… need… my scepter…_

The bridge shook from approaching footsteps. The wiggling logs would be the last thing Naugus would see before blacking out.

* * *

The _White Base_'s first act in this new battle was a single salvo from her main gun. It connected with the Gaw detected about ten minutes ago, knocking out its port wing. It rapidly descended into the mountains, finally erupting into a column of flames on impact.

"Well that was lucky," Bright remarked.

"Yeah, well, our work's going to be cut out for us when we get to that valley!" Reed snarled.

"Lieutenant Bright," Sally said, looking squarely ahead, "the city's not going to know what to make of us. They could think it's an Eggman ship or something. If they hear my voice, you won't have to worry about them attacking us."

"If cleaning Zeon out of the valley doesn't do that first," Bright added.

"IF you clean them out," Reed grumbled.

Bright turned to the communications panel. "Sayla, patch me in with the hangars."

Amuro appeared in a window on the main screen, already in his normal suit, but without a helmet. His expression was very… Amuro, if you know what it means by now.

"Amuro," said Bright, "do you think you can take them?"

_"It doesn't matter what I think," _the boy responded, _"I have to, don't I?"_

_ Yesterday, he didn't want to fight all, _Bright thought, _now he's passive-aggressive about the whole thing. Not sure if you can call it progress._

Suddenly, Hayato poked his head into the whole thing. He was also in his normal suit. _"Mr. Bright," _he said. _"Guntank-3 is repaired. We might do better against those airborne units you reported. Amuro wouldn't have to work as hard, either."_

"I give my permission," said Reed, "only if it can drive out the enemy."

_How should I know, _Bright thought, frowning.

Another window opened, this time the cockpit of Kai's Guncannon-2.

"Kai," said Bright, "you and the Guncannons are going to provide ranged support."

_"I guess my opinion's got nothing to do with anything,"_ Kai quipped, _"but look, Mr. Bright, all I'm gonna do is fire my guns from underneath _White Base. That's it. We're not gonna get our pensions if we kick the bucket now, will we?"

Sally rolled her eyes. _Am I going to bang my head against a wall every time this guy opens his mouth?_

Bright sighed, in a time like this, it was up for debate if Kai's mouth was preferable to Amuro's attitude. "I'll handle the paperwork. All hands, prepare for launch! I'm counting on you!"

* * *

In a small room beneath New Mobotropolis, three figures had gathered: Harvey Who, Charles Hedgehog, and NICOLE. Not too long ago, the city was rocked by a sudden shock. NICOLE's sensors deduced that the bomber that dropped those green monsters off on their doorstep was the cause. A different vehicle, a large white one brought it down. A friendly move, it would seem, but nobody was ready to roll out the welcome mat.

"Those giant machines have attempted to break through the wall and also tried to destroy the guns," the holo-Lynx said. "Repairs were swift, and apparently the King destroyed one with his magic."

"I've heard," said Uncle Chuck. "They found him unconscious in the Bright Tree district immediately after. He's still alive, but he's been rushed to Tommy Turtle, IC unit."

"I understand that Heavy and Bomb of Team Freedom have been out in the field fighting the tanks?" Who asked.

"Yes, sir," said Sally.

"Operative Betty informed me of incoming helicopters, arriving any second," he said. "Ten to fifteen, she says. What countermeasures will you be able to provide?"

A loud string of whistle-like beeps rang out denying an answer. A holographic window appeared over the conference room. The white ship was in the valley! The two doors in its front legs were opened and a trio of titans came out of the one on the port side. They were of similar size as the two remaining green ones, but were red, not green. One of them didn't descend into the valley as gracefully as the other two, but it tried. One different unit came out of the starboard hangar. It appeared to be a torso on treads with artillery guns on its shoulders.

* * *

As if the Anomaly wasn't trouble enough, the arrival of the Federation warship was more than enough to wreck Ulmer's morning. When that Gaw dropped off the Zakus, it appeared things would get easier, but they didn't. Whereas the aliens seemed to be trying to scare his men away, the Feddies were going to do much more. Their Guncannons and one Guntank had been deployed.

As if something out of a goofball silent comedy from the late Middle Ages, one Guncannon tumbled out and, as if by accident, took out one of the two remaining Zakus with a cannon-shot to the groin. The other didn't last that much longer either.

Dopps swarmed the ship like flies on a corpse. Meanwhile, the Gunship Helis had shown up.

"Ricci," Ulmer said into his walkie-talkie, "ignore the Anomaly for now. Focus on the Feddie ship. Moore's Magella Attacks are heading our way."

* * *

"Did you see that, Amuro?" said Hayato. "Kai took out his first Zaku."

_Helpful, for once,_ Amuro thought. He called up the shaft to his partner. "Hayato, remember to use the HG shells on the aerial units!"

"I know."

That was the game plan: Amuro would shoot up all the tanks in the area and Hayato would work the air. Thankfully, they weren't having as much trouble with the ground forces. Someone had taken out a few them earlier.

No sooner did Hayato splash a Dopp did the Guntank rock.

The Gunship Helis had arrived, and they'd just gotten a housewarming gift from them. Amuro aimed the right BOPS gauntlet at them, but it wasn't as effective against the swift whirlybirds.

Bright came in over the lasercomm. _"All hands, on our four! Tank reinforcements inbound."  
_

* * *

Kai felt like vomiting. By some miracle he'd taken down a Zaku on his own, but there was still a shitload of Dopps, choppers, and now more tanks! He could barely roll out of the way for their missiles. He was like a cornered mouse.

A small wall of Magella Attacks emerged from the side of the hill. He fired his Beam Rifle like crazy, screaming his head off. But he would be given no peace of mind: he soon discovered that the bodies of the tanks were destroyed, but the turrets detached easily and functioned like little planes.

The flights of about half of them were cut short by Amuro and Hayato's Guntank. A third went down from a burst from Kai's Vulcans. _If there's a God out there, _he thought, mortified by the warzone, _He either hates me or He has a humiliation fetish.  
_

* * *

A salvo of rockets hit the side of the starboard hangar, rocking the ship.

"Hard a-port, Mirai!" Bright ordered, "we need to hit that battery!"

"Bright, we can't take much more of this!" said Reed, on the verge of tears. "We got Zeek all over this ship! We've gotta retreat!"

"We can't retreat!" said Sally. "Not now!"

"You watch your mouth, you little fuzzball!" Reed barked. "You aren't in the Federation military!"

"The princess is right," said Bright. "If we tried to withdraw now, the enemy would be in an even better position to sink us! We're going to have to break them!"

"Do you want a court martial!?"

"Do whatever you want," Bright snapped. "We're doing whatever it takes to win." The gun placements on the parkway erupted in pink blossoms, colored in such a way through Minovsky radiation.

"Look at it this way, Lieutenant Reed," said Sally "there's no more Zakus and we've just hit those long-range guns!"

"Well, there's still all these Gunship Helis and Dopps," Reed countered.

A line was patched to the Guntank. It had taken a beating, and needed to be called back in ASAP. "Amuro," said Bright, "return to the ship. We're transferring you to the Gundam. That Guntank's just too slow."

_"Roger."_

Bright then turned to Marker and Oscar's platform. "Any more enemy reinforcements detected?"

"Negative," Marker reported.

"See, Lieutenant?" said Sally, still irked by his defeatism. "We're not out of the game yet!"

The elevator opened. Sonic, Bunnie, and Tilly entered. The ship had taken a couple of hits, but unlike Reed, the trio stayed calm.

"One hell of a 'Welcome Home' party out there," Sonic remarked.

"Hardly," said Sally. She lowered her tone until it was under her breath. "I can honestly say that Antoine at his most timorous is more levelheaded than Lieutenant Reed, here."

Sonic busted a gut at the thought. He'd seen a little bit of the guy's hysterics last night, but to hear this!

"I wasn't being funny," she said, flatly.

A window popped up on the screen, it was a line from the starboard hangar. _"Mr. Bright, Guntank-3 is safely aboard."  
_

* * *

Unable to fight, Amy Rose and Big the Cat had come together at the home of their friend Cream the Rabbit and her mother Vanilla. Even though they all had a shield over their heads, the bombardment was enough to reduce the little bunny to tears. She had it really bad when at big airplane flew over, but not so much now. With the passage of time, things seemed to become less loud, less scary.

No bullet or bomb was going to get through to her, so Amy ran out of the cottage to see what all was going on.

A white ship hovered to the south of the city, fending off a swarm of planes and helicopters, while the weakened artillery on the mountainsides were aiming for the large vehicle.

Something descended from the vessel, a white giant joining the fight alongside a trio of red giants. Loud bursts from the sides of its head brought down a bunch of those helicopters quickly. Turning its attention to the south, it aimed is massive gun where one unit of artillery was barely holding out. A pink streak ripped through the air, hitting the distant ridge. It turned eastward, and with a huge, rocket-boosted leap, came down hard on it, firing off its head-mounted cannons.

Soon, the pitiful remnants of tanks, choppers, and fighters broke ranks and hurried out of the area. One of the red giants out in the field pursued the tanks a short distance, firing off its rifle, an energy-based weapon of some sort, making the same effect as the white one's.

The battle had ended.

Every able Mobian came out of hiding to see the huge, equine vessel that was slowly descending into the large clearing outside the wall. The city was as silent as a cemetery.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, a voice boomed through the valley: _"Attention citizens of New Mobotropolis! Do not be alarmed. This is Princess Sally Acorn. I have returned!"  
_

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

Two intentional references were made, one to _Journey to Jaburo _for the PS2 and another from _Forrest Gump _(one of Lt. Dan's lines from the jungle battle scene). I wasn't intending it, but Sally channeled Anavel Gato in _Gundam 0083 _(or, given the current circumstances, _Earth: Three Years Later_).

Since this was a somewhat new location, I worked in a bit from the Kondo manga, namely Amuro and Hayato in the Guntank.


	27. Phantasm

**Shenandoah Valley**

**September 24, UC 0079**

**1003 Hours**

* * *

Smoke still billowed from the battle, now in the past. New Mobotropolis—the "Shenandoah Anomaly" as Zeon termed the structure—stood firm, as if nothing had happened over the past few hours. Right beside her, the _White Base_—the "Trojan Horse" which haunted the Zeon war effort—had touched down.

Had Sonic, Sally, and Bunnie been told that the return home would involve having to fight off a military power that could rival anything Eggman could throw at them, it would be hard for them to believe. Yet here they were, in a now-silent battlefield right in their own backyard. Wreckage of aircraft, mobile suits, and armor littered the area; the ridges were blanketed in black fumes.

Despite this small victory, Reed was still not happy as he looked down at the ruin below. "Wound up fighting tanks that were bought out of our own pockets," he grumbled.

Amid all this new calm, no human on the bridge expected what was about to occur: a purple cube appeared in the air right behind Sayla's chair. It sporadically got bigger and gained more sides, before abruptly taking the form of a Mobian Lynx. The guest came in sort of clumsily, faceplanting on the floor.

The three ex-Freedom Fighters knew who it was, though her entrances were much more graceful. "NICOLE!"

Sally was the first to get to NICOLE, and tried to help her straighten up. "NICOLE, is something wrong?"

"Another one!?" Reed shouted, "Bright, what the hell is going on?"

"How would I know, Lieutenant?"

"Hey, we just got done cleaning out Zeon's desk," said Sonic, "I don't wanna see you two go to Fist City. That's NICOLE, she's the supercomputer who runs the city. She's been with us since Robotnik War I."

NICOLE was raised to her feet, supported by Sally, rubbing the sides of her head with her right thumb, index, and middle fingers.

"Headache?" asked Bunnie. "All them Zeon fireworks and stuff musta whittled her down somethin' good."

"N-No," said NICOLE, in a little pain. "These headaches didn't really start until this ship started fighting. There's been… a lag in the nanites."

"Sounds like an effect from Minovsky radiation," said Marker. "It's harmless, but tends to affect electronic devices like radar."

"Minovsky radiation? Never heard of it," said Sonic.

"Hm. Sounds like another science gets lost to time," Bright said.

Mirai pointed out something on the ground, advancing from the city toward the ship. A column of at least a dozen Mobians in blue uniforms, with another at the head. Eventually, the got in front of the bow and formed a single line, looking like a firing squad ready to kill. The leader was in the center of this line at this point, and made a few steps forward.

"This is General Amadeus Prower, commander-in-chief of the Royal Army of Acorn," he announced, through a megaphone, "identify yourself immediately!"

Bright had to switch to the external speakers he had previously used for Sally. "I am Lieutenant Junior Grade Bright Noa, acting captain of the Earth Federation Space Forces warship _White Base_. We come in peace."

"A mere Lieutenant J. G. in the captain's chair?" said Prower, a bit incredulously. "Difficult to believe."

"Believe me," said Bright, unfazed, "the truth is stranger than fiction."

"Princess Sally is aboard, am I correct?"

"Yes, and a handful of others: Sonic the Hedgehog, Bunnie D'Coolette, and Matilda the Armadillo. Your computer, NICOLE, has also phased inside our bridge, but it seems your civilization has yet to encounter the Minovsky particle."

"I request an audience before your vessel, Lieutenant," said Prower.

"I will grant it."

"Good Lord, what are you doing, Bright?" Reed demanded.

"Diplomacy," he said. "This is a neutral zone at best. We need all the help we can get. You, after all, have been saying we've been as good as dead since reaching planetside."

Right on the nose. "You'll regret this," he mumbled.

* * *

The large gangplank hatch to the central garage opened like a drawbridge. At the foot stood General Prower, a brown Fox missing his left eye, with his subordinates behind him and the ship ahead.

A group, mostly composed of humans, descended. The only face the general recognized was that of the red-haired Chipmunk in blue and a somewhat rattled AI Lynx with her. The young man in the front stopped about three yards away and saluted. "Lieutenant Junior Grade Bright Noa, EFSF."

The Fox saluted in kind. "General Amadeus Prower. You seem to be Human."

"Yes," said Bright, "we are."

"Humans are a bit exotic on Mobius," he said.

"I don't know how to tell you this," said Bright, a bit solemnly, "but after what your friends have told me, this world's no longer Mobius, or at least not in the fashion you're familiar with."

Prower took notice of the opening: Sonic was leaning against the frame, watching the whole show. He turned his attention back to Bright. "You say you're a Lieutenant J. G.," said Prower, "how did you wind up commanding your ship?"

"Our original captain was wounded in a battle and died from his wounds a few days later," he explained. "He gave me command of the ship until we reach our home port at Jaburo. It was by happenstance that we came in contact with the princess."

Prower took a look at Sally. She appeared to mentally be bearing the weight of one of the surrounding mountains. Her face said it all.

"General Prower," she said, "we need to have an emergency Council meeting. There's too much at stake and what all happened this morning is only a foretaste of what could be."

"It seems our friends from earlier tuckered out NICOLE, here," said the Fox.

"Bunnie thought the same thing," said the holo-Lynx. "It's these Minovsky particles. If they can disrupt my systems, they could probably do the same for her cybernetics." Her eyes widened at this—she realized that she allowed something confidential to slip out.

"Cybernetics?" said Prower. "But the king restored her limbs. How did she do—no…" The officer froze, his heart sinking to his stomach.

"What are you talking about?" Bright asked.

Sally was cornered, her demeanor that of a defeated gambler. No other options, time to confess. "After the explosion that hospitalized Antoine, Bunnie ran off to the Desert Chapter of the Dark Egg Legion. Her uncle was the Grandmaster and she had him legionize her in order to get robot parts back because of what Eggman did. He was killed by a hitman shortly after we found her. Later, Zeon attacked the area, destroying Sand Blast City and the remains of the Desert Chapter, save for one survivor. A young girl. Thankfully, Eggman somehow hasn't noticed them, and the bombs in their parts haven't gone off. We need to get them removed as soon as possible."

A stark revelation that had the crewmen murmuring amongst themselves, save for one rather distressed officer. "Those two have bombs in them!?" he screamed. "Bright, you fucking dumbass!"

"It's not his fault, Lieutenant Reed," she said, her eyes watering. "I told you the truth about coming here, but I withheld that information because otherwise you wouldn't have gone through with it. We needed to get home because our friends can get those bombs taken out, and ever since we reunited with Bunnie, I've been worrying myself bald that she and Tilly would blow up on us on the way back. Words cannot express how thankful I am that they didn't detonate and that Lieutenant Bright selflessly decided to come this way. Did you see what all you were up against this morning? We've seen already seen enough of it over the past few days, and they were our best chance of getting here alive!" She dropped to her knees, finally broken down.

Bright approached her, placing his hand on her back. "I understand," he said, "you were in a bad position."

Sonic concurred with Bright. He couldn't blame her either, he would have probably done the same. He didn't utter a syllable the whole time, but after everything that happened between there and Red Rock, his mind couldn't turn away from one fact: Eggman did nothing.

Sally got deroboticized. No Eggman.

Bunnie got legionized. Nothing.

He and Sally had visited Oil Ocean and Red Rock, two DEL strongholds. Zilch.

Had two walking bombs with them for an extended amount of time. Nada.

He even lost an entire DEL chapter to Zeon. Crickets.

Eggman, as well as Robotnik before him, never gave up. What happened? Even though most people would have been happy if this were to happen, the Hedgehog was left brooding.

He knew Bunnie and Tilly had to leave the ship sooner or later anyway, so everyone was going to find out eventually, robot limbs are pretty tricky to hide. Even though NICOLE had inadvertently opened a pretty ugly can of worms, it was preferable to have those two alive instead of in bloody bits.

* * *

A spruce-hulled tandem helicopter eased down in Carillon Park as noon crept ever closer.

Captain Schultz was on edge. Being the passenger of the jeep taking him to the vehicle meant he was freer to worry about what the commissar was going to say. They fought that Anomaly for almost three hours and got nowhere, but then that Federation ship appeared. After the guns went silent, more intel trickled in. Hopefully that would soften whatever blow was going to be given to the nervous officer.

Parked near the bell tower accentuating the area, the transport's rotors slowly stopped spinning. The door opened and a short flight of steps extended.

Out the door came Garma, saluting the small band of grunts lined up the side. Char followed close behind. Three other officers followed.

Schultz approached his younger superior, his heart racing. He was nervous, but he remembered to salute.

Garma gave no quarter. "I find it funny that the mighty hand of the Spacenoid could wrest half the planet out of the Feddies' grip, but not be able to stamp out a single alien hive."

"Commissar," said Schultz, "I'm telling you we did everything we could, but a Federation ship got involved—!"

"A Federation ship?"

"A fragment from Lieutenant Ulmer was sent to me before the Minovsky particles covered the valley," the captain whipped out his phone and brought up the video message.

Ulmer was in a bit of distress, reporting that all contact with Ricci at Hazeltop was lost. The ship in question was a white, boxy, horse-like craft and below her, red mobile suits assisted her in fighting their tanks and aircraft. Abruptly, a white mobile suit with a colorful torso appeared and fired off its weapon. At that point, the video quality took a nosedive: it became more pixelated and jittery, with the sound having a bit of a stringed-instrument vibe to it. The video ended on a grizzly still of that white suit towering over the ridge, firing off its Vulcan guns, beheading one unlucky soldier.

"The 'Trojan Horse' is here," said Garma. "I encountered that ship yesterday out west. What's it doing in Virginia?"

"I don't know," said Schultz, "but most recent Luggun probe sent me this aerial." He showed Garma a picture of the battle-pocked area. The Anomaly still stood, but the "Trojan Horse" was resting right beside it. Were the Feddies going to strike an alliance with the aliens?

* * *

Amy Rose didn't hesitate to wrap herself around Sonic when she finally saw him again after several days. Tails was also happy to see everyone again as well, but the sobering situation dampened the reunions.

Everyone's attention was shifted to the two stretchers brought out of the visiting vessel. Bunnie and Tilly had since been stripped of their clothes for an operation that needed to be done for the sake of everyone. The anesthesia Sayla administered did its job and the two quickly went to sleep.

All they could do was expect the worst and hope for the best.

No sooner did their limbs become disassembled did they find the bombs—not a very difficult task, considering they all had Eggman's logo on them.

Omur Fang, in addition to being a mechanic, was also an explosives expert. Bright had him brought in to give his thoughts on the situation. The most he could gather from the way they were set up was that they weren't time bombs. If someone had the remote to them, they'd go off with the press of a button.

"Tails," said Sally, "can you tell us anything from the ship's x-rays that might be of any use to us?"

"Well, it doesn't tell me a lot," he admitted. "But from the way these are placed, if we tear off the plastic explosive from the magnet, we'll set it off, right, Mr. Omur?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"We've got not choice but to remove them manually," Tails concluded.

He went to work, leaving his friends to watch from a good twenty feet away, fingers figuratively crossed that nothing sets the bombs off.

"Poor Bunnie," said Rotor, "to do something that desperate…"

"I can forgive Bunnie," Amy told him, "but I'm pretty iffy about that new girl."

"Sonic said she's Mighty's little sister," said the Walrus, "she may have been with the DEL, but she could join us."

Amy didn't budge. "Remember Fiona?" she asked. "She quit being a bounty hunter to join us, but then threw her lot in with Scourge. How do we know that's not going to happen with Tilly?"

"Well, Fiona blamed the Freedom Fighters for leaving her at Robotnik's mercy," he explained. "That's why she became what she is now. Tilly's story's different."

The Hedgehog wanted to believe Rotor, but right now she just didn't know. Her eyes shifted back to the open-air operation.

Tails was toiling away on the bombs in Bunnie's right leg. A mess of wires trailed from them, rigged to detonate manually if a Legionnaire ever decided to defect. Before a single one could be removed, they need to be disarmed. It was like kudzu, but with plastic-coated copper.

* * *

As Tails slaved away to save his old friend, Bunnie's mind was haunted by an army of memories. Bad ones…

_I remember this, this awful day again. The day Elias and Megan went into exile. Sonic was escortin' the ex-king to Mobo-Cruiser, tryin' to lighten up the mood the best way he could. Nevertheless, there was little to be happy about. _

_ It-It's the Death Egg! It's droppin' pods! Looks like Eggman's got some fancy new 'bots. Oh well, let's whip 'em—wait… I forgot. Naugus deroboticized my limbs! How can I fight!?_

_ Somethin' came out of the Death Egg! It's Metal Sonic and… SALLY!? What'n the hell'd they do to you!? _

_D-Did you just cut through the Tornado like it were made of paper!?_

_Oh, no. Sonic! I need to help you. _

_NO! They're too dang strong, I need my cybers!_

_Wait, where's Metal Sonic goin'? He-He's headin' for the Mobo-Cruiser… and Antoine's followin'! You ain't much stronger than me now and I got tossed aside like a bag of moldy potatoes! Are you loco!?_

_ANTOINE! NO!_

_No, no… I let you down Antoine. If I'd still had my cybers you'd be just fine!_

_Uncle Beau? You'll give me my parts back? I don't care if it makes me a bomb, if Antoine lives, I ain't lettin' him down ever again. I don't care, I don't care, I don't care…_

_Sonic? You saved Sally! This is great! Now if only Antoine can pull through—w-what was that!? UNCLE BEAU!_

"_You Freedom Fighters are a bunch of pussies. If we'd switched places, Eggman would be long dead."_

_You're Sapper the Mole! You shot Uncle Beau!_

"_He worked for the guy who killed your husband. You got everything you need now. Do what you need to do now or forever be a little kid."_

_Antoine's… no, I don't believe it!_

"_You know deep down he is."_

_No, liar! Damn liar! I'm gonna stab you in the face!_

_Now sleep, for good._

_Eggman… EGGMAN! That son of a bitch! You're next! You can't run away from me!_

_A black forest. Turns to white. Back to black, and back to white._

_This is a weird place, but I can still follow you. Smaller… bigger… the walls are tiled. So many shadows…_

_Cornered at last. No robots. No gadgets. Just you, me, and my new cybers._

"_Please, no! Spare me!"_

_Y'all didn't spare my husband. Die Eggman._

_I blew your head to pieces… like an egg. A mess of blood and brains._

_More. There's more people like you. As long as your toadies live, the world can't be safe. I'll kill them all. I'LL KILL THEM ALL! Lasers, missiles, the whole nine yards! I'm not gonna stop till you're all dead, y'hear me!?_

"_Bravo. You did well. The Warlord Julian's legacy is a ruin, the world will never again relapse into the virus he unleashed."_

_Sapper? It ain't possible! I killed you too!_

"_I'll always be with you, Bunnie D'Coolette. In a way, we're family, you and I."_

_That ain't true._

"_Your Dad became my Dad. He taught me everything he knew… and I will live on within you. Congratulations: you lived my dream. You killed Eggman and saved the world. All you had to do was kill."_

_This ain't right. We can't kill. Not by choice._

"_You did it easily. The old Mobian habit of sparing your enemies must die for the sake of peace. Evil will only die through force of arms."_

_What are you?_

"_A man whose very life is death."  
_

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

Big thanks to the awesomeness of SonicEvan and HyperionGM for the assist with much of what happened before Bunnie's nightmare. With this chapter the issue of Bunnie and Tilly's bombs had to be addressed, in this case influence came from the original 1979 anime's episode, "Time, Be Still". In that one, a backwater Zeon unit uses a bunch of Wappas to plant bombs on the hull of the Gundam... and then waited thirty minutes as Amuro took them off! Here, I wanted to make a plot like that work. With the current situation with Bunnie and Tilly's Legion parts, there was something there that could salvage it.

Bunnie's nightmare stemmed from a loss of how to portray the removal process, so I decided on a trippy dream involving what led up to this point and a seed of revenge originally planeted in the Great Desert.


	28. An Inevitable Meeting

**New Mobotropolis**

**September 24, UC 0079**

**1622 Hours, EST  
**

* * *

Bunnie snapped awake with a scream. Her dream of the mass-murder of every villain the Freedom Fighters every encountered melted away like a snowman in a lumber kiln. She found herself in the city prison, but inside one of the cells, trapped behind a nanite-powered barrier.

"Good, the anesthetic has worn off." It was NICOLE, warping in on the other side of the barrier.

"I guess I'm here for runnin' off to the Legion, huh?" Bunnie asked, knowing that was exactly why.

"I'm sorry, Bunnie," said the AI. "The radiation put a lot of strain on me and I let it slip."

"Don't blame yourself," she said. "Can't really hide this forever."

"The bomb disposal was successful," said NICOLE. "None of them armed during the surgery, Tilly's fine, too. She's in the cell closest to the door on your right."

"How's Antoine?" the cyborg asked, remembering Sapper in her dream. "He ain't dead, is he?"

"He's still alive," the holo-Lynx confirmed, "but he hasn't come out of the coma yet."

Bunnie took a sigh of relief. He was still down, but him living was all that counted now. They'd been handed another miracle, too: none of the bombs went off, but why? If Eggman knew of this, he'd jump to set them off. "What about Sonic and Sally-girl?"

"Up at the castle with Lieutenant Bright. The Council's being summoned because of the human ship."

Bunnie wasn't particularly surprised. Especially after that morning's fireworks.

* * *

"Mother's going to be the substitute?"

Rosie nodded, confirming it for Sally. "The king collapsed and was rushed to the hospital," she explained, "Geoffrey was also discovered to be unconscious and had to be treated. The spot's been given to Queen Alicia for the time being."

"Can't say they had a lot of options," said Sally, "they definitely can't use Father. Not in his condition." She looked at the floor. NICOLE had generated three chairs for Bright, Reed, and Mirai, scaled to accommodate humans. From what little time they'd spent together, the princess wasn't worried about the "captain" and the helm. Reed, however, had proven so volatile that his outbursts alone could wreck whatever goodwill the Council would allot to them.

The six Councilmen entered the chamber and sat down, but it wasn't time yet. General Prower was there too.

"A bit of a shame we have to go through all this formal stuff, Sal," Sonic whispered. "I really wanted to give these guys a little slice of New Mobe."

"There's also all those refugees onboard," she replied. "This morning, Bunnie told me some of them were getting restless and wanted to get off."

"Seriously? With Zeon out there?"

Finally, the bailiff cleared his throat and made the awaited announcement. "All rise for Lady Alicia Acorn."

Everyone stood on their feet as the aged former queen entered the chamber, gracefully and demurely, clad in an ornate dress. Upon reaching the throne, she gave clearance for all to be seated. "Councilmen," she said, "copies of the minutes have been presented to you. If there any changes are required, raise your hands now."

Not so much as a finger went up.

"Very well," said the old Chipmunk, "let us begin. This morning, as you all know, the city faced an attack from a belligerent power. Through the intervention of our guests here, the assault was successfully repulsed. The purpose of this meeting is regard to the identity, goals, and might of the attackers. Would Lieutenant Junior Grade Bright Noa please stand up?"

Bright towered over every Mobian in the chamber. Even though it all seemed goofy, he kept a straight face.

"Lieutenant," said Alicia, "please introduce yourself to Council and tell us everything."

Bright cleared his throat. "I am Lieutenant Junior Grade Bright Noa, Earth Federation Space Forces."

"Earth?" said Rosemary. "That's the old name of Mobius, isn't it?"

"Yes, according to Sonic and the princess," he said. "He claims that the Earth of his time has merged with my era. I'm not sure exactly how."

Sonic's arm went up as soon as Bright had said that. "Yes?" asked Alicia, acknowledging the Hedgehog.

"I can explain," he said. "Team Fighters' operation to find and restore Sally led us to a Death Egg refueling station in the Northern Tundra. After we boarded, Eggman attempted to overwrite reality with a Genesis Wave. It partially backfired. Even though everyone was saved, the Chaos Energy merged the Mobius we know with ancient Earth, and we've landed smack in the middle of a war that makes the Great War look like an argument between an old married couple."

"Is this true, Lieutenant?"

"I'm afraid it is," said Bright. "Though I'm not aware of the scope and toll of your Great War, I am with this one. On January 3, the Principality of Zeon, the outermost collection of space colonies in orbit around the planet, declared a war in the name of separating completely from the rule of the Earth Federation and to become its own country. The first month alone saw the death of half the human species and a treaty banning the usage of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons was signed. Zeon's taken over half the Earth's surface at this point, including this continent. When the merge ended, you found yourselves in the middle of Zeon-controlled land."

"But where did you come from?" asked Penelope Platypus. "You're with the Earth Federation, not the United Federation, which is based on Mobius."

"Our ship, the _White Base_, departed from our home base in South America about two weeks ago," he said. "We were on a classified mission to Side 7, when we were attacked by Zeon. Much of the original crew was killed and we were forced to recruit mostly underage civilians in order to replace them."

"You're talking space travel?" asked Chuck. "Pretty uncommon outside the UF."

"But what brought you here?" Rosemary asked.

"Well, during re-entry, we got caught up in a fight with a Zeon warship. We had unwittingly deviated from our planned course during the fighting and came down over the West Coast." Bright turned his head to look at Sonic and Sally. "By pure coincidence we ran into the princess and her friends out in the desert. She offered temporary harbor for minor repairs."

"Will all due respect, princess," said Hamlin Pig, "do you believe it to be a particularly wise decision? Robotnik posed as a friend toward the end of the Great War, after all."

"I'm afraid our options are severely limited," said Prower. "Zeon is a military power potentially as powerful as Dark Egg Legion."

"I'd say more, General," Sonic remarked. "During my excursion into the Great Desert, I've seen Zeon's handiwork first hand. Two separate blitzkriegs like the one this morning completely destroyed Sand Blast City and finished off the Legion's Desert Chapter. We've rarely every encountered an enemy with something in its arsenal as big and numerous as Zeon's mobile suits."

"Mobile suits?" asked Dylan Porcupine.

"You know those tall green machines shaped like a person?" asked Mirai. "Those are Zeon's Zakus. They're mass-produced weapons and they've given Zeon the advantage early on in the war."

"I know Zeon and Eggman's guys exchanged shots after the merger," said Sonic, "but things could change. I don't want to imagine what would happen if they joined forces, and we definitely don't have anything that can meet the threat those Zakus of theirs pose to us. We need all the help we can get."

"Our mobile suit program's in its infancy as well," said Bright, "it was never taken seriously until the war went cold."

"I have to admit," said Prower, "even if you're behind Zeon in terms of production, your suits are impressive. Especially that white one."

Bright wasn't going to debate it. If it weren't for the Gundam, things would have been exponentially tougher. "As far as we know," he told him, "Jaburo is as oblivious to the state of the world after the merger you were. As our presence and that of our ship and mobile suits were evidence of these changes, perhaps if we were provided volunteers from your city we would have evidence for them?"

The Councilmen murmured and glanced about each other.

"Where is Jaburo, Lieutenant?" asked Alicia.

"The Amazon, in South America."

"Hold on," said Dylan, "South America… Amazon…"

"Sounds a little like Soumerca and the Shazamazon," said Penelope.

"Seems a number of geographical terms partially survived the eons," said Chuck.

"I would suggest that an envoy to their headquarters could be a worthy venture," said Prower. "I suggest a vote on the issue."

"Very well," said the ex-Queen. "All in favor of the formation of a volunteer corps to Jaburo?"

A "nay" from Hamlin. A "yea" from Penelope. Dylan, "nay". Chuck, "yea". Finally, two "yea" votes from Rosemary and Isabella.

"Then it is settled," said Prower. "The _White Base_ is hereby allotted until 0800 Thursday to assemble the volunteers and make all necessary repairs."

Sonic glanced at the human visitors, especially Reed, now that the vote had passed. He didn't say anything (thankfully), but the look on his face! It was as if someone had served him a platter of roadkill!

* * *

A handful of photos of the white thorn-in-the-side lined Garma's table at the restaurant-turned-command-center and 3D wireframe profiles and digital reconstructions filled the screens of several computers. The most recent image to work from was the final frame from Ulmer's doomed battery.

After two battles on Earth, they were beginning to get a grip on the mobile suit's capabilities. Its output was estimated to be three times that of a Zaku. All other systems were improvements on a Zaku as well. The Federation, in its attempts to retake the ground lost in the arms race, seemed to be focusing on making mobile units that could outperform theirs. The MS-06Js seemed to be the benchmark Jaburo was using for its mobile weaponry program.

Garma stroked his hair, in a coolly manner, as he studied all the data. "Char," he said, "why did you have to lead this monster down on top of me?"

"I'm sorry to make you work harder than you expected," said Char.

"Darota," the commissar said, facing the underling to his left, "I'll be calling a strategy meeting for 1900 hours. Make sure the entire staff is there." The lieutenant saluted and left. He turned to Char next. "Char, I'd like you to be there, too."

"Of course," the Comet obliged, "I'd be happy to."

* * *

Getting in and out of buildings made for Mobians was proving to be a bit of a hassle for the human visitors. After the emergency meeting, the _White Base_ crew was cleared to enter the city and Sonic, NICOLE, and Sally were quick to be their guides. Unfortunately, Antoine made Tommy Turtle their first stop. The kids had no trouble getting in, but Amuro and Fraw Bow had issues getting under doorframes.

Not a single change had occurred since the Coyote got caught in Metal Sonic's self-destruction. The hardware still showed he was very much alive, though. A somber start.

"So he's Bunnie's husband?" asked Fraw.

Sonic nodded. "The way you see him now? It's why Bunnie ran off in the first place."

"That's awful," said Fraw.

"What about Miss Bunnie?" Katz asked. "What happened to her?"

"She wasn't supposed to run off like that," said Sally. "She's in jail right now. The decision of what to do with her is going to be made tomorrow."

An earsplitting moan shattered the bleak calm of the visit. Sonic poked his head out the room to see a couple of orderlies walking briskly down the corridor. Dr. Quack was heading the same way. "Doc," said Sonic, "what the hell was that?"

"The king," said Quack. "We can't explain it, but he's in some sort of trauma after he collapsed this morning."

The Duck and the Hedgehog went straight to Naugus' private room. The wizard-king writhed and convulsed in his bed, clearly in pain. It was as if as woman was trying to give birth, but had no way of getting the baby out. Not everything coming out of his mouth was a groan or a scream. He would growl things like "Shut up" and "Useless wretches" under his breath. A sedative was swiftly administered to the ill monarch and he fell silent.

"Holy crap! What _is_ that thing?" Amuro and the others had followed Sonic to the room and he didn't know what to make of the ailing warlock.

"King Naugus," said Sonic, "and before you ask, no, I don't know what's got him like that."

* * *

"Sayla, how are the patients?" asked Ryu.

"They seem to be doing well, Ryu."

Despite the clearance for the crew to enter the city when off duty, it wasn't really applied to the refugees. Some were still trying to come to grips with the idea of humans not being the only intelligent lifeform on the planet anymore, but others were just too old and weak to do anything.

Sayla didn't have the luxury to go sightseeing, nor did she feel like doing any. Currently, she was placing a damp cloth on the forehead of an old lady, bedridden with fever. With all the old and sick about, she felt she had no right.

Fortunately, Ryu and Hayato were there, giving a hand. They didn't have her training, but they still volunteered.

"It's going to be okay, everybody," she told the room. "This is almost over, so just relax."

Ryu pushed a button on the intercom, patching an audio line straight to the Bridge. "Mirai, this is Ryu in Room 107. Everything's okay."

_"Roger. Yamada and Hunter will relieve you. Go get some rest."_

"Well, Hayato, you want to go see the new city?"

"I'll do anything once, I suppose," his partner in crime replied. "Coming with, Sayla?"

"No thanks."

They left her behind to her duties, not noticing the glare of one old man in the room who heard every word.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

At this point, SonicEvan has left his role as a consultant due to the growing scope of it all. If you are reading this, your input has been most appreciated and I wish you the best.

The Council meetings have always been a tough bit for me, here, I hope it works. What happens next with Bunnie is something I'm still debating... alongside Grant, the Zeon POW the SFF captured.


	29. Hostage

**Luray, Virginia**

**September 24, UC 0079**

**1900 Hours, EST**

The room Garma and his staff had gathered in was originally for private parties for guests, now it served a different purpose: a war room. He, Char, Schultz, and about a dozen other officers were gathered around the large, round table, with the lights turned down low and a projection of a physical map of the northern portion of the valley was projected on the table. A blue circle and a white polygon next to it were prominent features: the Anomaly and the enemy ship.

"Comrades," Garma began, "the Earth Federation has developed a mobile suit that is considerably better than our Zakus. It is aboard that new class of warship you encountered today. We have given her the codename 'Trojan Horse'. Lt. Commander Char here has been chasing her over the course of the previous week. Last Tuesday, he traced her path to Side 7, where a secret Feddie mobile suit development facility was discovered. He followed her to Earth and, in an astute move, forced her down into our territory."

"Why would the 'Horse' park right next to the alien city?" asked Darota.

"The subject of the aliens is largely still a mystery," said Garma. "We know that they are humanoid with animal-like traits and possess technology we have yet to see. The reasons as to the enemy's presence is unknown at this time."

"And what's her next move going to be?"

"You don't suppose she's going to make a push for the Atlantic?" Schultz posited.

Garma had already ruled that out. "Not likely," he said. "The AAR provided by Char after arriving from space suggests that her original trajectory was toward Brazil. The white mobile suit we saw in action today is a prototype and the objective of the 'Horse' is to deliver it to Jaburo."

"So if they leave the Anomaly, their most likely course would be southward," Schultz surmised.

"Meaning our flyboys at Sumter and Pensacola will be there to scrap her," one officer said confidently.

"That region's only on elevated alert," said Garma. "The guys on the 'Horse' would have to be either crazy or suicidal to push directly southward. Even if they were in good enough shape to push past Miami, every Jukon, Gaw, and Dopp in the Caribbean would be waiting for them. To top it all off, Garcia runs the northern coast of South America. It's a virtual glue factory."

"So that would mean they're going to go back the way they came in," said Char.

"Exactly," Garma confirmed. "I want to get my hands on that Federation mobile suit and I will lead the mission personally." The slide changed to one of the continental US, the vast majority shown to be under Zeon control; a white dot in the Virginia region marking the "Trojan Horse". "The plan is as follows," Garma continued, "the 'Horse' is trying to escape our airspace. She is going to make a push for Mexico, if anything. All installations along the border will be put on red alert and every little twitch she makes is going to be watched and recorded." He pointed at a spot in the west, Lake Mead. "We'll send two mobile divisions to point S-4, supported by a thousand units of cannon and AA missiles… and in one shot CRUSH THEM!" He pounded the table on "CRUSH THEM!".

"If you'll allow me a word, Commissar," said Darota, "we barely have the military strength to maintain the battle lines as is. Our troops are exhausted. I can't see any possible way to produce a full two divisions from them!"

"Pull troops from every division, from every front!" Garma ordered. "If we _still_ don't have enough, I'll requisition more from father. Assemble our forces at point S-4. Understand!?"

* * *

"So Zeon has control of the bulk of Northam—er, North America?"

"Bright's more familiar with this war than we are," Sally told Sonic, "so I'm taking his word for it."

"Meaning the city's surrounded."

Sally nodded.

"That's the best news yet," said the Hedgehog, rolling his eyes.

"But what's going to happen if they attack again?" asked Fraw Bow. "NICOLE doesn't like fighting."

"And if the nanites require radio waves to control," Amuro added, "then that's going to be a problem."

Sonic had to give it to Amuro. "Yeah, NICOLE seemed to have a little trouble phasing onto the bridge. If the city doesn't want to go the way of Sand Blast, there's gotta be a way around the Minovsky particles."

"And what about Bunnie?" asked Fraw Bow. "I know she got sent to jail for desertion, but…"

"I'm going to see if I can grant her permission to join the volunteers as a form of exile," said Sally. "At least we can craft some sort of freedom for her."

"She's right," said Sonic. "Bunnie's as loyal as they come, and she's been more than just a big help to us."

"Amuro, Fraw Bow!"

The four looked to the side to see a buggy park in front of the diner, not that it HAD a parking lot. The voice was Ryu's, Hayato and Kai were with him.

"Sonic and Sally brought us here to eat," said Fraw. "His Uncle Chuck runs this diner."

"Lemme guess," said Kai, "they only serve vegan, bugs, and swamp moss."

"Actually, they've got actual meat here," said Amuro. "But the food's much smaller."

"They're omnivores?" said Ryu, a bit surprised.

"Why's this table so much bigger than the others on the patio?" asked Hayato, taking in the surroundings.

"NICOLE sized it up so Amuro and Fraw Bow could sit down," said Sally.

Sonic's eyes furrowed as he looked around. Something was off. "Hold on a second, weren't the kids here a second ago?"

* * *

Katz and Letz looked all around the ever-darkening neighborhood. Their compatriot Kikka wandered off and they had to follow after her. So far, no luck.

"I can't believe she just darted off like that," said Katz.

He and Letz moved toward some hedges and started looking around. They found something, but it wasn't Kikka. A broken staff, one they thought would look awesome had it not been found like this, and a shiny purple rock nearby. Some kind of gemstone. A big one.

Their eyes widened at the sight.

"EEEEEKK!"

Fear gripped the two boys as a loud, shrill shriek gave them a direction.

At the foot of a tall tree, some two hundred feet away, a green-clad adult was seen with Kikka high off the ground in a stranglehold. The little girl kicked and squealed. She even tried to bite the guy at one point, but couldn't. A handful of Mobians had gathered around, frightened by the aggressive human.

The man snarled at the two boys. "Stand back!" he ordered. "Nobody move!" He had a reddish-brown bottle in his left hand, which was promptly smashed against the tree.

About the time he shattered it, Sonic showed up, giving the two boys a start. The Hedgehog hesitated a second, and scowled. "Let her go right now, motherfucker."

The stranger had the broken part of the bottle aimed at the terrified child's face, ready to slash it up if anyone tried anything. "I have a better idea, Alien-boy," said the man. "How about you get me out of this joint?"

Sonic didn't give an inch. "Maybe you ought to let her go, and then I won't send you out of here on a stretcher."

"I'm not stupid," said the man. "I've been your prisoner for days, that Who bastard's goons iced my recon team and it's been non-stop questions. Don't know how it happened, but I got out of my cell during the fighting today. Maybe your shit doesn't do so good when Minovsky particles are involved."

"'Who bastard'?"

"Sonic, what's—KIKKA!" Amuro and Sally had caught up with him, followed by the other Humans. They were aghast to see the Zeon pilot and his little captive.

"The Feddies and aliens together?" said the Zeon. "Intelligence would love to hear this, but I'd still be court-martialed." He brought the shattered bottle closer to Kikka's left cheek, looking much like a pointed crown, making her whimper. "Now listen up, if you don't want this little girl to live the rest of her life with a paper bag over her head, you're gonna get me out—!"

The loud crack of a gun blast echoed throughout the neighborhood. A shell lodged in the Zeon's left temple, releasing his grip on both Kikka and the bottle. He fell on the ground, dead as a pine log.

Kikka ran straight for Fraw Bow and sobbed into her uniform.

Sonic walked over to the corpse and looked at it with contempt. "No balls at all."

"Took the words straight out of my mouth," an all-too-familiar voice said. "Now, freeze! I don't want a single one of you to move, or you're dead."

_Sapper,_ Sonic thought, _I should have known._

"All of you face me."

The group obeyed.

Sapper stood on a log bridge, suspended some fifteen feet off the ground, gun still smoldering. Sonic tensed, expecting the worst. He wouldn't shoot again. "It would seem that I showed up in the nick of time."

"How did you know I'd be here?" Sonic asked.

"A lucky guess," said Sapper. "After our last meeting, I went to Casino Night."

"Lemme guess," the Hedgehog said, with a bit of grim sarcasm. "Mogul had second thoughts about retirement and put a hit on me."

"Relax, boy," said Sapper, "I'm not here for a bounty."

"You're not?"

"Listen, if somebody wanted you dead and make sure of it, you know they'd come to me."

He had a point. "So why are you here?"

"Passing on information," said the assassin. "Relating to Eggman."

"Eggman?"

"I figured you, of all people, would want to know. Saving the kid's skin was collateral, I'd been here an hour looking for you just to relay this. He's been captured."

Sonic and Sally's jaws dropped. "C-Captured?" said the princess, amazed, but still hesitant to budge. "Eggman?"

"And Snively," the Mole added.

"How did you find out?" asked Sonic, through stiff lips.

"Snively's two replacements. After something called Zeon destroyed Death Egg, they managed to escape to Casino Night. Mogul gave them jobs at the Bottom of the Barrel Bar and Grill."

"Zeon beat Eggman!?" Sonic couldn't believe it. He understood them stomping out a weakened DEL Chapter and the Sand Blasters… but the _Death Egg_?

"I only know about Zeon by name," said Sapper. "You wouldn't happen to know what it is, exactly?"

"A breakaway group of space colonies that formed their own country," said Ryu. "We've been at war with them since January. They attacked this place earlier today and the guy you just shot was one of their soldiers."

Sally swallowed. "You don't think Zeon's going to make them work for them, do you?"

"Who can say?" said Sapper. "From what Orbot told me, it sounds like they didn't leave the Death Egg wreck on the warmest of terms."

"I still say that a guy with a name like Eggman is someone too goofy to be any real danger," said Kai.

"Seems someone isn't familiar with the disease left behind by Julian Kintobor," the Mole remarked, dully, "but then again, you are from the past."

"So that's it?" said Sonic, still amazed. "You're not going to kill us?"

"No," Sapper told him. "My business here is finished."

"So where are you going now, trigger?"

"Now that I know what happened to Eggman," the assassin went on, "I'm going to rummage through some databanks and find out what exactly they did to him. When I find him, he dies." He began to walk away, but stopped a few seconds later. "One more thing, Sonic, this… merger between time periods? It happened because you let him live." He continued his walk, leaving the group behind.

"I don't give a crap about what that edgelord says," Kai snarked, "how can someone pose any kind of threat with a name like that?"

Sally looked at Kai sharply. "Kai, Dr. Eggman's our worst enemy," she told him. "We've been at constant war with him and his subordinates over the past two years. With all the tech on his side, he'd be a boon to Zeon if he joined up."

"Not too long ago, he tried to turn everyone in the world into robots with that Death Egg," Sonic added. "And that's the tip of the iceberg."

Fraw Bow looked at the small, rattled girl still clinging to her. "Kikka, what were you doing running off like that?"

"Potty."

"But there's bathrooms at the diner," said Sonic.

"I… don't think she needs to use one anymore," Katz said, in an awkward tone. A grossed out Letz concurred; it was a good thing Kikka still needed diapers. But Fraw Bow's question inadvertently reminded the boy of something on his way out there. "Hey, I just remembered. When we were looking for Kikka, we found some kind of shiny rock in the bushes."

"Shiny rock?"

The two boys led the throng to the hedge in question there it was.

"A Chaos Emerald," said Sonic. He studied at the debris surrounded it. "Naugus'."

"He must have dropped it during the battle," said Sally.

"Overexerted himself and passed out, no doubt," the Hedgehog noted, recalling the tortured king back at Tommy Turtle. "He wouldn't just leave something like that behind."

Amuro, already swamped by today's torrent of information, spoke up. "This is one of those Chaos Emeralds you were talking about earlier, that can—?"

"That can ultimately twist and turn the space-time continuum like a piece of gum?" Sonic interrupted. "Yes."

"Okay, animal people from the future, nanite technology, wizards, and superpowered gemstones?" remarked Kai. "I'd say that the whole world's gone apeshit over the past week, but given the current circumstances, that would probably constitute an ethnic slur."

"Well it sure isn't a dream," Hayato told him. "So what now?"

"We're not giving it back to Naugus," said Sonic. "Even if he has it in light of Zeon, it's still bad news."

"We saw him at the hospital, too," Amuro added. "His mind was completely fried."

"So do we take it?" Ryu wondered.

"NICOLE will have to take it for now," said Sally, picking up the gem. "Even though it may help us in the fight for Zeon, it legally belongs to the king, despite him being unable to use it."

Sonic hung his head. Something that Zeon said before he got plugged by Sapper: "that Who bastard".

* * *

True to Sally's word, the shield had been enlarged to cover the entirety of the _White Base_. The bridge had been deserted for some time, but Bright remained, staring at the Mobian city off the port bow, all lit up as darkness fell.

Despite the burst of Chaos energy, the day they collected the Gundam, the changes were seamless. The tiny city and its shield stood there, as if it were as native to the valley as the mountains and trees. _To think that in 12,000 years we gain technology and lose others, _Bright thought, _but Acorn's glass jaw is Minovsky warfare, based on NICOLE's lag earlier. We can't stay here much longer, just for necessary repairs and some volunteers. _He returned to his chair and sat, leaning forward and using his palms to support his head occupied head.

The door to the elevator hissed open. "Mr. Bright, you still here?" He was no longer alone, Mirai was there.

"I take it you didn't feel like going sightseeing with the others," said Bright.

"Not really," Mirai admitted. "You have to admit that these mountains are beautiful, it's just a shame—"

"That we have a war going on?" Bright cut in.

He'd taken the words right out of her mouth.

"I feel the same way."

"I was a bit worried during the Council meeting today," Mirai said. "A couple of close calls with Reed."

He knew she was right. That Pig on the Council was maybe a little bit more level-headed than the lieutenant, but if the sparks started flying between the two, it would be the first intertemporal incident ever. "I was relayed a bit of good news," he said, "the mobile suits didn't get banged that much compared to what happened at the Grand Canyon."

"Bit of a shame we can't leave them a 'tank or a 'cannon when we go," said Mirai.

"And they don't like fighting," Bright added. "Can't really blame them, a psychopath would but not normal people."

"They said they wanted us to attend the regular meeting tomorrow," she said, looking into the darkening distance. "You said that Garma Zabi is the commander of this region?"

"Yes," Bright confirmed, "Degwin's youngest. Before the war he and his classmates were involved in the Dawn Rebellion. Char, too."

"We sure haven't had a lot of luck lately," said Mirai.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter up and running. Between SonicEvan's departure and personal stuff cropping up recently, I haven't had a lot of time to work on this, but I'm going to make up for it, hopefully. I'm just ready to get out of this Virginia section...


	30. Amuro's Gambit

**New Mobotropolis, Shenandoah Valley, Virginia**

**September 25, UC 0079  
0800 Hours  
**

* * *

A very thin mist came with the morning. The floor of the valley between New Mobotropolis and Hazeltop was still festooned with blast craters and the wreckage of Magellas and Zakus. The overlook itself had the warped remains of artillery, blasted and twisted by NICOLE's defense of the city. A defense that could have potentially devolved into a battle of attrition if not for the ancient battleship parked outside the city walls.

Sitting by herself, staring at the now-silent battlefield below, Sally could only be reminded again about how much the world had changed in such a short amount of time. The bombshell Sapper had dropped the night before was just the latest memo. With Elias being forced out of power, Antoine almost dying, the disappearance of every Echidna in the world, the carnage she'd unconsciously wreaked, and the death of Bunnie's uncle, it was as if some sadist was in control of everything, favoring monsters like Naugus and Eggman. _We've had so much stacked against us lately,_ she thought, _that we needed extra help. We got some, but not the way we wanted._

Hushed footsteps drew closer. "Aunt Sally?" Tails was there.

She smiled weakly, before returning her gaze back to the valley. "I really wish we could get them to stay," she said, "but they're trying to get to their main base in the Shazamazon. After all that Sonic and I've gone through, I really do."

"Sonic told me everything," said the Fox, taking a seat on the grass. "Hard to believe that somebody actually beat Eggman."

"It also explains why Bunnie and Tilly never blew up on us on the road home," said the princess.

"You don't think Eggman's going to help them out, do you?"

"I was told that such a scenario's not very likely," she told him, "we just need to hope for the best."

"You're really leaving again?" Tails asked.

"We're going with the _White Base_ to Jaburo," Sally explained. "We're looking for volunteers to join us."

Tails strolled alongside the wreckage of the Zeon self-propelled missile launcher, eyes fixed on the blasted remnants. "Aunt Sally," he said in a somber tone, "I want to come with you."

"Tails!?"

"Ever since the Iron Queen attacked the city, Dad's—he… he thinks we're too vulnerable. NICOLE's not a fighter, so she didn't give it her all during the fighting yesterday. After what Sonic told me about the Minovsky effect, we…" he was having a hard time relating it to the Chipmunk. It was one of those things where it was hard to argue if he was being selfish or selfless.

"What about it, Tails?"

The Fox hesitated, but eventually forced it out. "We need to research mobile suits."

"I have to admit," said the princess, "defeating a Zaku with one seems to be the only effective way. But I don't want you coming with us solely because of the General."

"I know my Dad's a bit hawkish," said Tails, "and I really don't want to wreck whatever kind of relations we could have with these people on his part. It's just… I just don't want a repeat of Knothole."

"I know that. Nobody does." To think that three years ago she was still reading him bedtime stories. Hard times really do force people to grow up.

Everyone in town shared the same story.

* * *

"He's dead."

Harvey Who sat before the violet Chaos Emerald, looking at the king's confiscated relic as NICOLE revealed to him the fate of Grant. It at least solved the question of what would be done with the Zeon prisoner going forward. The declining mental and physical health of Naugus was also on the director's mind. If he wasn't already being seen as unfit to rule, he sure was now.

"And Eggman's been captured by Zeon?" asked Elias. "This whole ordeal is unnerving."

"So what's the next move?" asked Larry. "Is it too early to push for Elias to get the crown back?"

"Naugus was just hospitalized," said Harvey. "If we were to attempt to restore Agent King…"

"It would be seen as a coup d'état," Lyco finished.

"I wonder," said Shard, "if Zeon's overrun half the planet, we shouldn't have been the only ones they've had to deal with."

"Zeon attacked the Sand Blasters, Eggman, and the Great Desert DEL Chapter," said NICOLE. "Who knows what else has run into them."

"You don't suppose GUN…?" Elias trailed off. The United Federation seemed to be those best-equipped to deal with Zeon, though not necessarily on equal footing with them.

"It's possible," said Harvey, "if worse comes to worst we may have to wire them for an assist."

"What about that human ship, the, uh, _White Base_?" Shard wasn't getting his hopes up that the ship would stick around, but the faction it was affiliated with could be helpful if they played their cards right.

"A small envoy of volunteers from the city is cleared to join the crew on a voyage to Jaburo, their main base," NICOLE explained. "The ship departs tomorrow morning."

"Even though Eggman is out of the picture for the time being and Naugus is dysfunctional," said Elias, "things really didn't improve that much. We're still outgunned."

"Sonic and Sally could very well be our only chance at making it out of this war alive," Harvey remarked. "Here's hoping they're successful."

* * *

The engine of a Luggun roared overhead. Reed nervously sipped his coffee, lightened to a bright brown from sugar and cream. To his left, Mirai and several crewmen were gathered around a data terminal doing diagnostics. Even though repairs were still underway, they could only do so much. The most recent idea that was hatched was to escape back into orbit and reenter the gravity well again, this time without Char interfering. Unfortunately, the engines were still not up to snuff, so getting the whole ship back into space was out of the question, based on Marker and Oscar's projections.

Bright stood at the viewport, looking out at New Mobe, arms folded. He felt the same sort of nervousness as Reed, but had a much easier time of staying calm.

At another terminal, at that same time, Amuro and Omur had birthed another scheme.

"Will the catapult have enough strength?" Amuro asked.

Omur leaned to the side, taking a paperback manual in his hands and opened it to a section on the _White Base_'s hangar specs. "It should be fine," he said, "the catapult was designed for the Gunperry. It should be able to handle a Core Fighter."

Amuro smiled. "Terrific."

Bright finally spoke. "Lieutenant," he said, "first and foremost we're soldiers. We have a duty to protect innocent civilians."

"We'll be saving their lives, too," Reed told him. "If we let those evacuees off _White Base_, they'll be in less danger. It'll allow us to orbit and begin to regroup ourselves."

"But we're in Zeon territory," Bright protested, "and these are old folks and young children."

The elevator hissed open. Fraw Bow, Hayato, and Haro entered the bridge.

As if she were somehow listening to the conversation, Fraw asked "Sir, are we landing the evacuees?"

All the while everyone was trying to work out their next move, Kai was idling in a chair by the elevator. Ever the smartmouth, he gave his "answer": "No, our Mr. Bright prefers to keep us on the run."

"You know I didn't say that, Kai."

"Ouch. Too harsh." The boy wasn't exactly repentant, he just put his cynical outlook on the whole thing into different words. "But, hey, what about food? There's rations going to a shitload of people who don't even fight y'know."

"Kai…!"

"It's just as this young man says, Bright," said Reed.

"But we can't just dump them off here," said Bright. "We were only allowed to stop for temporary repairs. I don't think the Mobians would take them all at the drop of a hat—and don't forget the Zeon attack yesterday. They barely held their ground."

"We don't have unlimited food!" said Reed. "The Zeeks aren't going to give us theirs. We need to go back into orbit and set a trajectory for Jaburo."

"How are we going to get back into space if the engines aren't at 100%?" Bright seemed to be getting on his last nerve.

Then Amuro spoke up. "Mr. Bright," he said, "Omur and I had an idea. We don't have to do another reentry. We can use the catapult to launch a Core Fighter and try to contact Jaburo. We can use the main engine to power it."

"Power the catapult directly from _White Base_?" asked Bright.

"It's probably our best solution," said Amuro. "The trajectory will get the plane directly to the target."

"It does seem quite possible," said Mirai. "Amuro, have you done the calculations?"

"Yeah," he confirmed, "we can attach the main engine's steam valve to the center catapult, right? What do you think?"

"We'll never get around anywhere if we just sit around playing a waiting game with the enemy," Kai remarked, butting into the conversation before Bright could say anything. "Let's try Amuro's idea."

"Well first we have to see if it's even possible to modify the catapult," said Bright. "Also, we need someone who can withstand the force of the launch without the risk of blacking out."

"Well I suggested it," said Amuro, wanting to compensate for being such a drag on everyone over the past week, "if the plan doesn't succeed, there'll just be one casualty."

Kai gave Amuro a menacing, cocky look. "Well, well. You'll be our martyr!"

Amuro could sense his tone. "Don't worry," he said, slightly irked "I'm not saying I think this plan is going to fail. Mr. Bright, please approve the catapult modification."

"Done. Do you approve of this sir, Lt. Reed?"

"Yes, I do," said Reed, after another sip of coffee. "The most important thing to do is contact HQ and get reinforcements."

* * *

Char entered Garma's office. They'd only been back in Norfolk for a little more than an hour and the commissar had already done a jackknife into paperwork. He couldn't help but smirk at his old friend's fanatical attitude about military life. "Up early again, Garma?"

"The 'Trojan Horse' and the White Devil have made things a little more interesting," said Garma. "And it turns out my Division isn't the only ones with aliens to deal with."

"What do you mean?"

"AAR fresh from Hughenden Base," Garma explained, handing the Comet a stapled document. "It seems Donahue and Curtis' boys down in Australia have their own aliens to fight. They captured a prisoner in a skirmish near Perth yesterday. Claimed to be part of the Dark Egg Legion, too, and that the continent is really called 'Downunda'."

"Seriously?" Char asked flatly. He turned his head to the left, looking at the large monitor mounted on the wall. It was that white suit. The monster that gave him so much hell. _Well now, you've developed quite the fixation._

"It's one hell of a mobile suit," said Garma, noticing where Char's attention had shifted. "If we can capture and study it, the war will be all but won. You should be commended for holding your own against the 'Horse' for so long."

"If I know her," said Char, warily, "she's probably going to try something ASAP. It'd be best if we didn't let her get too much of a rest."

* * *

Bunnie didn't have much to do in her cell, aside from stare into ceiling as her mind drifted off. She still didn't regret the Legionization, but moping about Antoine wasn't going to wake him up faster.

Footsteps echoed through the jail, and finally, a familiar voice. "Morning, Bunnie."

Bunnie sat up to see Sonic standing just outside with a red tray. Tails was with him, alongside NICOLE. The Hedgehog pushed the platter through the shield door, without disturbing the steak and eggs on it.

"A little special order from Uncle Chuck's," Sonic said, smiling.

Bunnie blushed, flattered. "Y'all shouldn'ta gone through that, Sugar-hog."

"There's more," said Tails, "but it's sort of a 'good news/bad news' thing."

"Good news is that you can get out," Sonic explained.

"R-Really?" said Bunnie, surprised, but levelling off upon recalling that it was only part of it. "But what's the catch?"

"You're being exiled from Acorn for the next four months," said NICOLE, somewhat somberly.

"Don't be angry," said Tails. "Aunt Sally told me about it. She asked the Council about letting you go last night, but the most they would…" He stopped, nervous about going on.

NICOLE had to finish the reveal. "They gave you an ultimatum: you can remain here in jail, or become part of the Volunteers."

"Volunteers?"

"The _White Base _is leaving tomorrow," Sonic explained. "A few of us have agreed to serve as envoys to the Earth Federation headquarters. Sally and Tails are going with me, and we still need to find others willing to join."

Bunnie let out a "humph". "I guess old King Crab's trying to throw me under the bus like he did with NICOLE, same with the Council," she said a little bitterly.

"Pull up your platter, Bunnie," said Sonic, "it's breakfast and a story."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

You have no idea what a rough job the Sonic portions were: motivations, dialogue, attitudes, you name it. The Gundam parts, not so much, primarily since it's an adaptation of the seventh episode of the TV series, "The Core Fighter's Escape". This chapter merely covered a fraction of that plot, which I found a way of working into this story.

This story will continue, but I can't do it without your help. No, I'm not asking for money, just a little boost in terms of character and dialogue. SonicEvan was a big help to me in this regard back when he was on the project, and HyperionGM is still quite useful when it comes to spitballing ideas. If you want in as a consultant on this story, hit me up on my Discord, RX-78Gundam#1229.

Also, a side-story has been inaugurated here on FF, picking up where the infamous "Endangered Species" arc ended: _Knuckles: Shine in the Storm_. Only the prologue has been completed thus far, but you can check it out.


	31. Into the Catacombs

**EFS **_**White Base**_**, Shenandoah Valley, Virginia  
****September 25, UC 0079  
0839 Hours**

* * *

A line was patched directly to the central hangar. Chief electrician Daisuke Tierney answered Bright's call immediately. _"Yes, Mr. Bright?" _

"Tierney," Bright asked, "is it possible to power the catapult directly from the ship's engine?"

_"Absolutely,"_ he answered.

"Can you complete this job in fifteen minutes?"

_"Sir, it's a cinch,"_ Venture told him. _"All we need to do is attach a steam valve from the main engine and we're set."_

Bright turned to the boy who hatched this scheme. "Amuro, are you certain about this?"

"Well, Ryu said that a Core Fighter is no different from the cockpit of a mobile suit," said Amuro, "plus I've logged about eighteen hours in the sims."

_Better than nothing_, Bright thought. Even though the boy was still pretty green when it came to this sort of stuff, they really weren't in a position to try any alternatives. "Have you had your breakfast, yet?"

"No, sir."

"We're going to point the ship southward in the next fifteen minutes," Bright told him. "Hurry down to the galley and grab something to eat. Something light."

He was off. The elevator door opened as Amuro walked away, Sally passed him on her way out and she had that Fox who did that bomb removal operation on Bunnie and Tilly yesterday. A little robot dog was with them.

"Mr. Bright," said Sally, "Bunnie has agreed to join the group."

"I assume she'll be transferred to the brig?" he asked.

"For twenty-four hours," the Chipmunk confirmed. "By that time, we should be halfway across the continent." She turned to the Fox she'd entered with. "This is our friend Tails," she said, "he volunteered as well."

"Hello, sir." On the surface, Tails was pretty nonchalant about being there. Inwardly, though, he was pumped to be in a place like this.

"Are you joking?" asked Reed, dismissively. "He looks even younger than you two!"

"Lieutenant," said Sally, now seasoned from Reed's past tirades, "while Tails may indeed be younger than us, he's repeatedly proven himself a capable member of the Freedom Fighters throughout the past Robotnik Wars."

"I'm a pilot, mechanic, and engineer," said the child. He motioned to the little robot with him. "I even built T-Pup here." The little robot barked, as if to say "hello".

Even though Reed was clearly disgusted by the presence of the youngster, Bright was noticeably more open. "I can't say this isn't an unusual situation," he said, "but over the past few days, I'm not one to discard stuff like this."

"He's a kid, Bright," Reed complained, "and an alien, too!"

"We're not aliens," said Tails, somewhat offended, "we're from the same planet as you guys!"

"Lieutenant," Sally said, looking him in the eye, "you guys need help, we need help. By ourselves, we won't beat Zeon. Bright here even said that the ship's overcrowded and understaffed. We can help you out on the way to your HQ."

"Maybe you could let us leave some of these serfs here," Reed muttered under his breath.

Bright heard his complaining and gave him a sideways glare, prompting him to shut up.

* * *

Vanilla the Rabbit sat by the kitchen window in her house and sipped her tea, gazing out at the visiting vessel in the distance. Everyone in town had gotten the same advert: volunteers with experience in fighting, mechanics, or medicine to help the ship get to its home base in the Shazamazon.

Vanilla hated fighting. She was a nervous wreck when Cream told her about her first adventure as a Freedom Fighter. But right now, everything seemed desperate. She was no soldier; she was no mechanic. She was first-responder, though. Every part of her body was telling her to say in New Mobe, but something deep down was overruling it.

Amy Rose could sense this, too. The pink Hedgehog sat on a stool to the Rabbit's right and looked out at the towering ship with her. "Are you sure about this?" she asked.

"I really don't know," said Vanilla.

"After everything I heard from Sonic," she said, "the _White Base _needs all the help it can get, and I've been having trouble getting signatures for the voyage." She looked at the list she had with her: herself, Sonic, Sally, Bunnie, and Tails had all agreed to go. In regard to Bunnie, though, Sally had relayed to her that the conditions for this weren't exactly leaving her jumping for joy.

"I understand," said Vanilla. "After yesterday, with all the bombs and giant robots and all, everyone's scared about all this. I am, too."

"Sonic told me that the ship's loaded with human refugees who had to abandon their home on a space colony," Amy explained. "That's one big reason. But what about Cream?"

Vanilla looked at the Hedgehog.

"You aren't thinking of taking her with you if you go, are you?"

Cream was a big reason why she was considering this in the first place. Vanilla didn't like to see her daughter in any sort of dangerous situations, but if she were to leave on the _White Base_ tomorrow, they'd probably get the same sort of nightmares like yesterday again and again. "She'd be safer if I left her behind."

Amy looked at the ship. It was gradual, but the _White Base_ seemed to ease off the ground a bit. About a minute later, she had begun a clockwise turn. "What's the ship doing?" It couldn't be leaving. Not yet.

* * *

The _White Base _turned as if she were on a Lazy Susan. Within two minutes, her bow was facing southward, high off the ground.

From under a pair of pines which had been spared Zeon's onslaught, a reclining Sonic watched the ascending hulk. She wasn't leaving, that he knew, Bright or someone must have come up with some kind of scheme to make their situation a little less dire. Only Tails and Sally were aboard at the moment anyway. Limbs shook and grass went flat from the force of the warship's retros. One could barely hear a thing.

"Ow!" Almost.

Sonic looked over his right shoulder, at a nearby thicket. A stump stood in the midst of it. One that, for a microsecond, seemed to have closed. His attention was no longer the _White Base_. Something overcame him: the same sort of ominous feeling he had before Zeon levelled Sand Blast. Was a similar danger lurking beneath New Mobe? That ugly Tails robot he'd heard of only got into the city because NICOLE was exiled by the Council, not that she was back, nothing could have done something like this, could it? Whatever the case, something was off about that stump with a capital "O".

Sonic noticed a tiny crack between the rings, as if someone had taken a pen and drew in there. It took a little while, but POP!—he was able to pull it open like a lid sealed in place by hardened jelly. The door hid a deep shaft, with a ladder going down into the darkness. Even then, this strange feeling hadn't subsided. The Hedgehog stood there a few more seconds, peering into the abyss. Something or somebody was down there.

He looked back at the ancient vessel—still climbing. _Not gonna get to the bottom of this watching you guys, _he thought. _Well, seize the moment…  
_

* * *

The central hangar hatch opened, unveiling a clear morning sky and the mountainous Virginian countryside below. As the ship ascended, her bow began to tilt slowly upward for her desperate gamble with the Core Fighter on the catapult, primed and ready to go.

Within the cockpit, Amuro was as ready as he was ever going to be. It was his plan, and he was keeping his fingers crossed that it wouldn't fail. Nevertheless, he felt very nervous; he was gripping the stick with all his might.

Mirai's voice blared over the loudspeaker: _"Preparing countdown: 10… 9… 8… 7… 6… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… 0…"_

Next thing Amuro knew, he had been pushed back into the seat as if he were pinned by the hand of an invisible giant. He struggled with the intense acceleration, but the G's eventually won out.

Everything went black.

* * *

Garma looked up from his mess of reports and AARs at the tone of the incoming lasercomm message from the command room. "Yes, Harpe? What is it?"

_"Commissar,"_ the officer said, choosing his words carefully, _"we've just received intel from patrol squadron Luna at Shenandoah. The 'Trojan Horse' is adjusting her position."_

Garma stood, rising to his full sixty-eight-inch stature, with all the intensity of a piranha upon noticing a piece of meat in its water. "Quick," he ordered, "send me the data!"

Behind the desk, on the large, wall-mounted monitor, a computer-projected model of the valley appeared. It zoomed in on the area where the Anomaly was. Where the "Horse" was. Based on the data, the ship was indeed airborne—ascending. _"The calculations are based on laser analysis,"_ the informant stated.

"I don't believe it!" said Garma, his face reddening with annoyance and a little embarrassment. "Don't tell me the 'Trojan Horse' can break into satellite orbit that easily!"

"No," said Char, as he took a drink of coffee, "she's not fast enough to do that." Even though she had the ability to do so, it was too risky in a place like this. But then again, _were_ they even trying to get back into space? The thought hit the Comet like a runaway car. "Garma, contact Dren immediately! We need a Komusai prepped ASAP!"

"What's this about, Char?"

"The 'Horse' isn't trying to escape the atmosphere; she's trying to contact the Feddies!" Char had a sense of urgency in his voice, yet still remained calm in light of his deduction. "She most likely has fighters aboard in addition to mobile suits."

As if on cue, a line was generated from the bow of the ship, as if coming out of the ship's "chest". _"Update from Luna," _Harpe reported, _"the 'Horse' has just deployed something!"_

"I knew it!" said Char, feeling vindicated, but not happy. "That's an orbital trajectory. She's attempting to shoot over us and notify Jaburo."

"Harpe," said Garma, "can we intercept the ship?"

_"If the Komusai is launched in one minute, we can intercept in two minutes and fifty seconds."_

"Good. Contact the Gaw squadron. We need cover."

_"Yes, sir." _The transmission ended.

"'We', Garma?" Char asked, noting that the commissar was heading for the door. "Don't tell me you're going into the fire."

"Dozle never got where he is now by sitting on his hands," Garma remarked. "I don't lead from behind."

The Comet smiled when he heard this. Outwardly, it gave the impression that he was an officer worthy of his rank and any respect. Inwardly, though, Char's attitude was different. _You're as glory-hungry as you're spoiled.  
_

* * *

"Amuro! This is _White Base_! Do you read! Amuro?!" Bright got no response. Amuro's fighter had only just launched and all they were getting was dead air.

"Maybe he was shot down," said Kai, snidely.

Mirai groaned. "This is no joke, you hear? So shut up!"

"Enemy detected!" Marker announced. "Enemy craft approaching Core Fighter; intersection in one minute!"

"You think it's Char?" Reed asked, a bit concerned.

Mirai wasn't taking it.

Neither was Bright. "Kai, Amuro needs support!"

Kai cackled. "Missiles on standby and ready to fire! Whenever you say!"

Annoyed, Bright curled his nose and faced his helmsman. "We'll have to lower his trajectory. Full speed ahead to catch the Core Fighter."

* * *

Metallic catacombs beneath the valley. Whether this was a creation of ADAM or NICOLE, was as big a question for Sonic as how he wound up down here. He thought he heard a yelp for a moment. People had a tendency to imagine sounds, but that didn't even touch his discovery of the secret shaft that led here. How would anyone even guess? It was the Gaws over Sand Blast all over again.

He trekked steadily through the corridor, as if being guided by someone or something.

This ominous feeling soon brought Sonic before a specific door. _People are back there,_ he thought, _but…_

Hand on the knob, the Hedgehog hesitated for a second. Like a frightened puppy, he seemed to stop, not wanting to keep going. Yet through it all, the door opened, revealing the glow of a large Warp Ring. In the room, too, he found several faces he didn't expect: Silver, a robotic mock-up, two wolves, and an ousted monarch last seen leaving New Mobe before Eggman screwed up everything.

The looks on the party's faces displayed surprise as well, but likewise dread.

The room was as silent as space.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

Happy New Year! With the dawn of the new decade, the New Mobotropolis arc draws ever closer to an end, and the Secret Freedom Fighters aren't much of a secret anymore, thanks to Sonic's [CLASSIFIED]. You too can help out with the dialogue and stuff by hitting me up on Discord: WhiteDevil#1229. Other than that, nothing much to say about this one aside for a big thanks to my consultant HyperionGM.

Also, check out the prologue to the side-story _Knuckles: Shine in the Storm._


	32. The Core Fighter's Escape

**Secret Freedom Fighters' Hideout, Shenandoah Valley, Virginia**

**Tuesday, September 25, UC 0079  
0855 Hours  
**

* * *

"Well," Sonic said with sarcasm, "ain't this a surprise! Weren't you and Meg supposed to be in Feral Forest, Elias?" He looked around and laid eyes on a certain repurposed doppelganger near the shining Warp Ring. "Heading somewhere, Mr. Bootleg? Might wanna take a rain check."

Everyone in the room looked tense, but Leeta eventually forced some words out of her mouth. "How did you find us?"

"Would you believe me if I said that I really don't know?" the intruding Hedgehog stated. "Since the Genesis Wave, I've had these weird sensations. Like some kind of chill in the back of my mind. The last time I felt it, Zeon blew the shit out of Sand Blast. I don't know if this is a byproduct of all of Eggman's screwing with space-time or the long-term results of exposure to Chaos Energy. Somehow it brought me down here, even though I had no idea a place like this existed… or that you all have some little club down here."

Larry heaved a sigh of relief. "I was beginning to thing I jinxed everything when my tail got caught—!" He covered his mouth as quickly as he could.

"I thought I'd heard something up there," said Sonic, "but with the _White Base _lifting off for some plan of Bright's, I couldn't be sure because of the engines. After that, these… jitters… took over. I would have never thought that stump was a fake if not for them acting up." He approached the disgraced ex-king and forced his finger onto his chest. "What's the story, Elias? I wanna know." There was no sense of playfulness in the Hedgehog's voice. He wasn't happy at all.

Elias waited a moment before bringing himself to speak. "Following Geoffrey's trial," he explained, "I approached former SID leader Who to discuss an operation to oust Naugus without public drama."

Sonic didn't lighten up. "You don't have to worry much about Old King Claw. He doesn't even know he's in the world right now, last I saw him. Why don't you tell me the real reason?"

"That's enough, son."

Sonic looked over his shoulder to see a smoking jacket-clad owl standing in the doorway. "Harvey Who, huh?" he scoffed. "I had a hunch. That asshole who hid behind babies name-dropped you before he got shot."

"Yes, it _has_ been a while," Who noted.

"Could you do the world a favor and explain what's going on?"

Shard felt awkward about this, but he couldn't process a false story. "I was going to get backup from Station Square—!"

"Back-up?"

"After Zeon attacked," the robot explained, "it was decided we needed some more help—!"

Sonic interrupted with mock laughter. "Ho, ho, ho! I get it now," he said, "after Naugus took power, Sally got roboticized, and your little bro kamikazed Antoine, you guys began to think that I can't do my job! Well guess who saved her? ME! I know everything's gone to shit since Eggman came back, but after everything we've fought and accomplished—!"

"It's not like that at all," Elias tried to cut in. Soon, he and Sonic were rolling on the floor, fighting.

Silver had to intervene and separate the two psychokinetically.

"You still here, Leaf Quills?" said Sonic. "We've already established there never was a traitor, so how about go back to your time period, or do you think I suck that bad, too?"

Who approached the suspended Hedgehog. "Sonic, listen to me," he said firmly, "this group was never formed to replace you. Agent King was telling you the truth."

"We're the _Secret_ Freedom Fighters," said Elias, brushing himself off, "we aren't supposed to be in the limelight, only a handful of people know about us. NICOLE and Sir Charles are among them."

_You too, Uncle Chuck? _"Well, if your objective is Naugus," said Sonic, "why are you bothering to fight Zeon? Don't think I can do it?"

"Because we need all the help we can get," Who told him. "You can't be in a thousand places at once, and the UF is the best-equipped to deal with this new threat as far as we know."

"Not a single person in this room wants Naugus to be king," said Lyco.

"And nobody wants Zeon to rule, either," her sister added.

Silver released Sonic from his psychic grip, letting him settle easily on his feet. The desire to escalate things to a physical level was gone, but he still stood with his head hanging, still feeling a bit hurt.

"Sonic," Elias said, putting a hand on his shoulder, "I know it feels frustrating, not having known about this, but if we didn't keep this group under lock-and-key Naugus would have been able to control the minds of the Council and revive that cult of his."

The Hedgehog faced the deposed monarch. He was always meant to be the king, and this resolve only solidified it. He was in a rush to jump to conclusions. "I'm sorry, dude."

"I know times are frustrating, but keep your chin up." Uncle Chuck had entered the room, giving his nephew an assuring look. "Even heroes need a hand."

"I'll go now," he said, "I didn't see a thing. Elias, we'll win this thing, and you'll be back in the castle where you belong."

Elias smirked. It was the Sonic he remembered.

The Hedgehog made for the door, joining his uncle for an escort out. Yet, before he left, Sonic had one last item of business with that group. "By the way," he said, "about the number of licks needed to get to the center of—!"

"Still classified," Who said, not missing a beat.

"Worth a shot," said Sonic, with a shrug.

* * *

A Komusai raced westward to catch up with the fighter just launched from the "Trojan Horse". Garma, Char, and Dren were aboard the capsule.

"How much longer?" Garma asked.

"We should see it in thirty seconds," Dren replied.

No sooner had Garma received his answer did several objects race across the capsule's nose, missiles; the closest one missed by about seventy yards. The Minovsky sensor detected significant radiation out there, the "Horse" would have easily detected this as they had. All factors accounted for, it was obvious that the enemy wasn't trying to hit them.

"Aimless shots from the 'Trojan Horse'," said Char, at the helm. "They're trying to scare us. Ignore the missiles, we'll keep moving in on that jet!"

* * *

"_Amuro! You've got to wake up! Can you hear me? Amuro!"_

First darkness, then a bright crack, then a blur, and soon, the cockpit of a Core Fighter appeared. Amuro had bounced back, a cobalt sky before him, and the frantic voice of Sayla in his ears.

"_Amuro! Can you hear me?"_

"I'm here Sayla," he said, still a little bit disoriented.

"_There's an enemy interceptor heading your way!" _This warning was followed by a hail of Vulcan fire from Amuro's eight, forcing him to make a sharp right He was able to dodge the fire, save for a pretty big nick to the fighter's dorsal fin. _"You've got to remain calm!"_ Sayla urged him.

Despite the damage, the plane still functioned. The Komusai tailing Amuro had caught up to him and let loose another round of fire. Amuro evaded with a barrel roll.

Bright came over the radio. _"Amuro,"_ he said, _"you can't let yourself be shot down! Keep an eye on the enemy's position."_

The boy looked over his shoulder, seeing the Komusai. It had a notably hard time turning than the Core Fighter. That's when it hit him: it's meant to be a reentry capsule, not a combat vehicle. The Vulcans are just emergency weapons. If he could just get behind it…

* * *

"The sights on these Vulcans aren't aligned properly!" Char complained.

"I feel embarrassed to say that this development was a bit of a surprise," Garma remarked. "It was intended for a personal return to space. We still have my Zaku—Char, the jet!"

The Feddie plane was making a hard left. The Komusai attempted to turn, but couldn't maneuver as quickly as the smaller craft. Soon, the plane couldn't be seen ahead, and its disappearance was complemented by a violent bump from the port stern.

"A direct hit," said Dren.

"Everyone hang tight," said Char, "we're going for a dive."

The capsule began a descent. As it did, a crackly message came over the radio: _"Commissar, this is Calder wing. We are coming in on the Fed bogey on your six."  
_

* * *

An unwelcome surprise for everyone on the _White Base_: Amuro was just holding his own against that Komusai, when Marker announced a flight of Dopps approach from the northeast. The Core Fighter was sandwiched between them.

"Launch more missiles!" Reed roared.

"Those Dopps are between us and the Core Fighter, sir." said Oscar. "If we fire off another salvo, we'll risk hitting Amuro."

_"Mr. Bright, I've got six Dopps on my tail! I need help!"_

"Sayla," Bright ordered, "tell Amuro to return to the ship immediately."

Sayla acknowledged. "Amuro, return to _White Base_. Stay calm and fly as low as you can."

_"But Sayla—Aagh!"_ A Dopp gave him a bad hit. It was difficult to tell from their current means if he was descending manually or if the Dopps finally shot him down.

"I just knew it wouldn't work," Kai snickered, only to be met with a strong punch to the cheek. Next thing he knew, he was on the floor looking up at Bright. "Oh, that was nice!" he whined. "What'd I ever do to deserve that!?"

Bright was sick of Kai's smart remarks today. "Kai," he said, clearly sick of the boy's mouth, "you show that attitude once more, and I'll throw you out the airlock!"

"Mr. Bright, the Core Fighter!" Oscar announced. "It's still in operation. It returning to the ship!"

* * *

_The forest's for the birds! _Amuro's Core Fighter skirted across the treetops of the sprawling woodland. He wasn't very graceful in his flying, but he was able to outrun the incoming flight and its presents. He began to climb, leaving a trail of smoke in his wake. The _White Base _was straight ahead.

_"Amuro, the port hangar is open,"_ said Sayla. _"We've prepared a crash net just in case. When you're back aboard, go to the Gundam. It may sound risky, but they want you to do fight an aerial battle in it."_

"Aerial battle!?" Amuro said, astonished. "But Sayla, the Gundam was made for ground combat, right?"

_"Don't worry, you can spend up to one minute in free fall. You can do it. You're approaching the hook now!"_

Amuro didn't need to worry about those Dopps right now, but he wasn't relaxed yet. _A midair fight_, he thought, _they're asking too much…_

The Core Fighter came down on the hatch, but missed the landing gear. It skated across the runway, rotating and at least once bumping into the walls. Fire sprinklers rained upon the stricken vehicle all the way toward the net.

The mission had failed, but at least there weren't any casualties.

* * *

The open hatch of the "Trojan Horse" began to close, much to the dismay of the pursing Dopps, which had to disperse to avoid flying into range of the enemy vessel.

It was a sight that didn't please Garma, and he wasn't ready to throw in the towel.

_"Commissar, it's Darota,"_ Garma's subordinate called over the radio. _"Soshkin's Gaw is inbound for your position, as you ordered."_

"Good. Launch all Dopps. If we can play our cards right, we can sink the 'Horse' right here. All fighters are to fire on the enemy ship!"

_"Sir!"_

The young officer faced his friend. "We've done what we could do. I don't think they sent their SOS. Radio Soshkin to have his hangar open."

The cumbersome Komusai made a wide turn over the rolling wooded hills. But as it altered course for the incoming Gaw, a message went through: "Commissar! The 'Trojan Horse' opened a hatch! They're sending out White Devil!"

Garma's eyes widened and he began to make for the capsule's garage. "Change of plans, Char. Bring the Komusai above the 'Horse' and prepare to open the hatch."

"Garma?"

"I can drop in on that bastard with my Zaku, catch it off guard," he said. "I want that suit. If we can get it and study it, Jaburo will beg for peace at any price. It's a gamble, but I'll take it."

He was off, leaving his masked friend behind.

Char grinned and turned back forward.

"Are you certain that's wise, Commander?" Dren asked.

"The Commissar's always been proactive about this sort of thing. Let him be."

* * *

The Gundam stood on the edge of the hatch, beam rifle ready and shield in hand. A single shot from the gun could splash a mobile suit, and a plane wouldn't fare any better. It was demonstrated on one of the numerous Dopps swarming around the ship.

With a mighty blast from its engine, it was airborne, joining the ship's AA weaponry in fending off the attackers. It was beginning to look like something not to write home about, but then that damaged Komusai flew over the ship's defense zone.

_"Amuro,"_ said Sayla, _"new heat source detected from above! The Komusai-!" _Amuro couldn't hear the rest of the warning as something slammed into the Gundam.

_A Zaku! Char? No, wait…_ It wasn't the Red Comet's suit. Even though the Zaku's head and limbs were red, it had a charcoal body. It brandished a heat hawk, whose blade was meant for the Gundam's face, but the chop was blocked in the nick of time by the shield. _Should I point-blank it? _Amuro thought. His mind flashed back to him taking out his first Zaku back on Side 7, where his beam saber sliced through its reactor and the resulting explosion breached the walls of the colony. A point-plank shot that close was out of the question.

The shield was beginning to weaken from the heated blade. The Vulcans were the safest option.

Much to his surprise, the enemy suit had head-mounted Vulcans as well, going off a split-second after his. Though the Gundam's Luna Titanium hull was resistant to that sort of fire, its camera was knocked out in the crossfire; meanwhile, the Zaku was pretty much beheaded by the white prototype.

Both suits blinded, they drifted apart, separating as gravity took hold.

The Gundam landed on its back, in the middle of the woods, Amuro inside, out of breath. Snow filled the monitor before him, but the line to the ship wasn't severed. He could hear Bright on the other end. _"Amuro, are you alright?"_

"That Zaku," he said between breaths, "what happened to it?"

_"Crashed somewhere southeast of you_," said Bright. _"You took out its camera, it can't fight anymore. The Dopps are withdrawing. Switch to auxiliary cameras and return to the city. The battle's over."_

Amuro looked at the charge in the beam rifle. He'd already used more than 80% on those Dopps. Even if that wasn't Char, he didn't want to risk a chase with what was in essence an empty gun. _Got away this time…_

* * *

Dren looked curiously at the Red Comet's expression. Only a minute ago, Char seemed to be happy that the commissar was actually going up against that nightmare of a mobile suit despite everything they'd gone through. Even though they had failed to defeat it, Garma was able to get away from the White Devil, only losing his Zaku's head. The ace looked disappointed, but still remained calm. "That white bastard did it again," Dren lamented.

A Minovsky particle-distorted line was patched to the Komusai. _"Char, it's Garma. KZT!-you copy?"_

"I copy, Garma," said Char. "Are you alright?"

_"SSSSZT!—suit wrecked my camera, so I can't go anywhere," _he said.

"Zeon Cross stuff," the Comet reminded him. "We'll forward your coordinates and retrieve you on the double."

_"Thank yo—KKKKK! I got a little egg on my face—SSSSFF—carried away like that. Heh."_

"The Minovsky radiation's kinda bad down there," Char told him. "That gun of the enemy's a miniature Mega Particle Cannon. You're lucky it didn't try it on you."

_"Yeah. I won't make—KSSK—mistake again. Char, will you help me bring down this monster of a suit?" _

Oddly enough, the masked officer took about two or three seconds before replying to his friend's plea, as if he had to think about it. Waiting for a clear patch in the particles, so Garma could hear it, perhaps? He did answer, though. "Yes, Garma. I'll help you."

* * *

The Gundam walked toward the walls of New Mobe with an inexorable pace, before stopping completely amid the still-littered field.

By that point, Sonic and Uncle Chuck were out of the catacombs. "I think we just missed out on another party," the younger Hedgehog remarked.

"I have to admit, sonny, that's one hell of a machine," said Chuck. "What did you say it was called? The 'Gun-Dam'?"

"Gun-DUM," Sonic corrected, "and that was the mother of all understatements." He looked skyward to see the _White Base _heading back their way.

"You're not worried about leaving the city again?" asked Chuck, recalling that his nephew had decided to join the envoy to Jaburo.

"Naugus is scrambled, Lady Alicia's substituting for him, and with Elias and you guys working behind the curtain, this place should still stand," the Hedgehog said, confidently. "If that weren't enough, you got Team Freedom with you too, and hopefully GUN."

* * *

A couple of hours had elapsed since the _White Base_ touched back down in front of the city walls. While her crew were able to heave a sigh of relief after two back-to-back skirmishes with Zeon, Team Freedom worked in the coliseum, setting stuff up. Cream and Cheese were hovering above the stage, with a large banner. When stretched out, one could read the words "Godspeed to the Jaburo Envoy". A send-off party for the ship and the citizens seeking to join her for the voyage to Soumerca would be held tonight: a way to boost morale as well as advertise. Being friendly with Mina Mongoose and the Forget Me Knots was a boon to this push. Sonic once quipped offhand that they love to find excuses to party, but if they were saving any for a rainy day, this was a flash flood.

Sally sat on one of the bleachers, watching Rotor all help set things up, while Mina and some new girl she hadn't seen before were doing a bit of rehearsing for that evening. She was taking a break from recruiting right now. Her attention at the moment had shifted to a notebook in her lap.

"Hello, Sally." NICOLE took shape to the princess' left, in the digital civvies she had on during the infamous concert that turned the public away from her not too long ago.

"It's a real shame you can't come with us," said Sally. "We could sure use you."

"If only my old handheld wasn't destroyed, we'd easily be in contact," said the digital Lynx. "Besides, I'm not sure how much use I would be in light of Minovsky particles." NICOLE eyed the notebook her friend had. "What's that?"

"I'm preparing a detailed account for the Council for after we leave tomorrow," Sally explained. "I need to find Sonic. He was witness to the stuff that happened when I was roboticized. He gave me a stripped-down version shortly after I was restored, but we need more data. At this point, I'm only up to the Sonic and Khan running off to fight the… Iron Dominion." She caught sight of a figure hobbling around at the mouth of a vomitorium, he quickly lost balance and fell, hugging the wall as he went down. NICOLE was the first to the enfeebled person, thanks to teleportation, but Sally didn't waste any time to get to him. What she saw took her breath away. "Geoffrey!?"

The Skunk had been found unconscious after the Zeon attack yesterday and rushed to Tommy Turtle, alongside Naugus. How he got into such a bad condition was never clear, but one day later, he was a bigger mess: his fur was a mess, his heart was beating faster, he was struggling to breathe—to look at him, one would think he had been awake for almost a week.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

We're almost done with New Mobe, we're almost done. Hopefully just one more full chapter and this sub-arc can be put to bed.

\+ The episode this portion was derived from, "The Core Fighter's Escape", culminated in a brief fight between Amuro and Char in free fall, but here, I thought it would be more interesting to bring in Garma's custom Zaku. In the PS2 game _Mobile Suit Gundam: Journey to Jaburo_, you can actually fight said suit if you're able to complete a mission quickly enough.

\+ We also have the first appearance of ol' Stinky St. Jerk without Naugus in his body. In the novel _Dracula_, Jonathan Harker ages from all the torture he was subjected to in Transylvania. I figure that Bat Ears' attempt to stall his death may have had adverse effects on him.

\+ Uncle Chuck's mispronunciation of "Gundam" is in reference to the 1999 English dub of the Movie Trilogy, with Steve Blum as Char, Bright with a British accent, and a bored Latina as Sayla. Except for Tem Ray and at least one other character, everyone called the Gundam the "Gun-DAM".

\+ Also, the exchange about the lollipop between Sonic and Harvey? There's basis for it. I know where it comes from, do you?


End file.
